


We Are One

by orpheous87



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Angst, Auror Harry Potter, Bonding, Complete, Drarropoly: A Drarry Game/Fest, First Kiss, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Magical Bond, POV Alternating, Pureblood Culture (Harry Potter), Slow Burn, traumatic memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:46:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 80,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23382529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheous87/pseuds/orpheous87
Summary: Harry and Draco haven't seen each other for two years, then suddenly they're thrust together in bizarre circumstances. Determined to make the best of a bad situation, they get on with their new way of life. Eventually, they realise that this might not be so bad.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 70
Kudos: 412





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Massive, massive thanks to [Amelior8or](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amelior8or/pseuds/Amelior8or) for taking on the task of betaing this fic. ❤️
> 
> It was written as part of workshop for Game of Drarry and was supposed to be 14k in length. It has grown into a monster and is a year in the writing. The challenge was to expand on a prompt we'd written previously and this fic is an expansion on [this prompt](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17290178) (please be aware that if you do read that, this first chapter is a rehashing of it so some parts are repeated). 
> 
> I hope it's as enjoyable to read as it has been to write.

“Mother, exactly what is it that we’re looking for?” Draco sighed. “And why are _we_ looking at all? Wouldn’t the House Elves be better at this?” 

“Draco, I have told you, this is not a job for House Elves,” Narcissa replied in a tired tone. “We’re looking for a brooch that I have misplaced, but I am certain that it is in this room.” 

Suppressing a groan, Draco went back to searching the dresser. “Why do we have only one candlestick?” he asked, pulling the silver candlestick out and examining it. “It’s got the Black crest on it, not the Malfoy one.” 

“It must have been separated from its partner,” Narcissa replied absently. “That old House Elf of my aunt’s was always turning up here with things for Bellatrix. I imagine that was one of them.” 

“Hm,” Draco said, running his thumb lightly over the crest (deciding that he preferred the Malfoy crest) before setting the candlestick aside. He could have sworn that his skin was tingling, though he didn’t have much time to dwell on it as he went back to rummaging in the cupboard in search of his mother’s misplaced brooch.

***

Two years had passed since the battle of Hogwarts and Harry had decided that it was about time that he finally sorted out the rest of Grimmauld Place. He’d been putting it off, trying to cling on to every memory of Sirius that he could, but it was becoming tiresome living in a house that still held a lot of Dark magical artefacts. He’d slowly cleaned up and redecorated the rooms he used most, but hadn’t been able to face the rest of the house. So, having a couple of days off work, he decided that now was the perfect time.

He entered the bedroom that he assumed used to belong to Mrs Black. He’d put off even looking in this particular room for as long as he dared (there was something weird about going into the bedroom of a woman he’d never known), but he thought it was about time he bit the bullet. He knew Mrs Weasley had done a lot over the last few years while it was used as Headquarters, but there was a lot more still to be done. Not to mention the rest of the redecorating, he thought. 

Rolling his sleeves up, he surveyed the room, wondering where to start. His eyes fell on a display cabinet in the corner of the room. Moving across to it, he cautiously opened the doors. He’d learnt not to just dive in and start pulling things out of any of the cupboards in this house. When nothing leapt out at him, or screamed, he opened the doors wider and peered inside. He could see lots of dusty, silvery objects and some cardboard boxes. 

He reached into the cupboard and carefully extracted a very ornate, silver candlestick that bore the Black family crest. Running his thumb over the crest, he snorted softly at the motto: _Toujours pur_. _Ridiculous really, when you think of the state of the family tree,_ he thought.

He set the candlestick aside and reached back into the cupboard. If there was one candlestick, there must be another, he thought. However, after pulling several other objects out of the cupboard and still not finding the other, he came to the conclusion that it must have been lost. Shrugging, he piled all of the objects he’d pulled out of the cupboard into a cardboard box and set it aside. As he picked up his wand, he frowned at his hand, wondering why it was tingling, like he had pins and needles.

***

After his first plan of getting Hermione to look at his hand — which was still tingling — bore no results, Harry took himself to the hospital. Entering St. Mungo’s, Harry heard a voice that he hadn’t heard for a long time: Draco Malfoy. Rounding the corner, he stopped as he saw the unmistakable blond hair of his former school rival. Pausing for a few moments longer, he watched as Malfoy spoke to one of the witches behind the reception desk. Although he could hear Malfoy’s voice, he couldn’t hear exactly what was being said. From what he could tell, the other man was not happy about something. _Though_ , he thought, _how many people are happy when they’re standing in a hospital reception?_

He found it interesting that although Malfoy was clearly annoyed about something, there was none of the spoiled brat behaviour that he remembered from Hogwarts. He supposed the blond must have grown up a bit in the last couple of years. Continuing to watch him for a moment, Harry realised that he didn’t know what Malfoy had got up to after leaving school. In fact, he couldn’t remember even hearing anything about him. Even when Lucius Malfoy had passed away, there hadn’t been anything in _The Prophet_ that had mentioned Draco. 

Shaking his head, Harry approached the other side of the reception desk where he could see a second receptionist sitting. “Hi, I need someone to take a look at my hand,” he said. “I was clearing out some things at home and I think it’s come into contact with some kind of curse.” 

“Potter?” 

Harry looked up, surprised at being addressed. “Malfoy. I didn’t realise you were still in London.”

“Where else would I be?” Draco asked, frowning. “Did you think I’d flee the country?” 

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Harry said quickly, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of St. Mungo’s reception area. “I just… haven’t seen you for the last couple of years, that’s all.”

“Did I just hear you say that your hand has come into contact with a curse?” Draco asked, ignoring Harry’s reply. 

“What has that got to do with you?” Harry replied, bristling slightly at being ignored. 

Draco’s expression turned to one of annoyance. “Just answer the question, Potter.” 

Harry gave an indignant snort. “If you must know, I was cleaning out a bedroom at my house and picked up a candlestick. My hand has been tingling ever since.” 

Draco paled considerably at Harry’s words and the words he was going to say died in his throat. 

“What?” Harry asked, warily. He wondered if cleaning was such a foreign concept to a Malfoy that it made them ill.

“What did the candlestick look like?” Draco asked, ignoring Harry’s response for the second time. 

Harry gave a frustrated sigh and shrugged. “It was silver, fancy… had the Black family crest on it.” 

Draco let out an involuntary groan. 

“Malfoy, what is it?” Harry exclaimed, his patience wearing thin. 

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose briefly before looking at Harry again. “I believe,” he began, “that I may have encountered the matching candlestick while helping my mother search for a brooch.”

“So what?” Harry asked, confused. 

“My hand has also been tingling ever since,” Draco admitted. “It started in my thumb. But then it spread to my whole hand.” 

Harry’s eyes widened as he looked at Draco, realising that he had experienced the exact same thing. He turned back to the receptionist. “We need to see someone. Now.”

***

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Draco groaned. He and Harry were sitting on one side of a desk in a Healer’s examination room with the Healer opposite them.“There’s _no_ reversal for this magic?” His mind was working overtime. He knew enough about Pureblood magic to know that everything about this situation was bad and that they needed to act quickly.

“I am sorry, Mr Malfoy,” the Healer said. “The magic was designed to be activated by touch. It _is_ old magic, indeed. Usually put into place on a pair of objects, one for each person, usually a couple.” 

“And what does this magic do?” Harry asked, his eyes still wide. “How, I mean, I knew my candlestick must have a matching one, but how can this magic work when we’re not a couple?”

“The old magic didn’t just bond established couples,” the Healer explained. “It could also be used to… betroth people. It _usually_ applied to people who were already attracted to each other, however, I have heard of cases where the people involved were unknown to one another.” 

Harry and Draco stared at each other, before turning to the Healer as one.

“I am _not_ attracted to him!”

“Do I look like I find _him_ attractive?!” 

They glared at each other. 

“I don’t know why you’re so upset, Potter,” Draco sniffed. “At least I am presentable.” 

Harry snorted again. “And I’m not?” 

“Not with that hair,” Draco replied, with a snort of his own. 

“I am sorry, gentlemen,” the Healer interrupted in an apologetic tone. “I don’t think that arguing will change the magic’s mind.” 

“What if… what if we don’t want to be betrothed?” Harry asked.

“I don’t believe that the magic allows for that eventuality,” the Healer replied carefully. “I’d say you need to get used to each other.” 

Harry and Draco stared at each other again. 

“Would you come to dinner with me, Potter?” Draco asked through gritted teeth. “Perhaps we can think of a way of getting out of this.” 

“You want to take me to dinner?” Harry asked warily. 

“No, I want you to join me for dinner, we’ll pay our own way,” Draco replied, rolling his eyes. “I have no intention of staying betrothed to you.” 

“Fine,” Harry sighed. He looked back at the Healer. “Is there anything else we need to know?” 

The Healer shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can really do here,” he said. “Removing the magic would be a lengthy and complicated process and it is not something we can do at St. Mungo’s. The Curse Breakers may be able to help you, they’re more experienced with magic of this nature.” 

Draco tutted loudly, making Harry glare at him. 

“Alright,” Harry said. “We’ll go now. Thank you for your time.” 

“Thanks for nothing, you mean,” Draco muttered, gathering his travelling cloak. 

Harry punched Draco on the arm, lighter than he really wanted to, but he didn’t think it would be appropriate to start a fight right now. “Shut up. It’s not his fault.” 

“Do you see what you are sentencing me to?” Draco asked the Healer, looking affronted at Harry’s audacity. “I’ll be covered in bruises!” 

Harry rolled his eyes this time. “You’ll deserve every one of them.” 

The Healer looked between them as they bickered like school children. It was clear from his expression that he was unsure whether he needed to intervene. 

“Thank you again,” Harry said over his shoulder, shoving Draco out of the door before he could say anything else. 

“Do you _mind_ , Potter?” Draco hissed as he stumbled into the corridor. He righted himself and made a show of smoothing his shirt. 

“Not at all,” Harry replied breezily. “Right. Dinner? Where and what time?” 

“That new restaurant on the corner of Diagon Alley,” Draco replied. “Six pm. And please try and do _something_ with that hair of yours. It’s a nice restaurant, and no-one will want to be put off their food by that eyesore.” 

“I’m not promising anything,” Harry said, frowning. “You’ll have to take me as you find me. I’ll see you at six.” He turned and walked away from Draco before he could say anything. 

Draco glared at Harry’s retreating form for a moment, then pulled on his cloak and headed for the Apparition point. _Betrothed to Potter! Of all the people!_ He could hardly wait to see what his mother had to say about _this_.

***

“Hermione! I need your- oh, sorry,” Harry burst into Hermione’s office without knocking, only to find Ron and Kingsley there.

Ron looked at his best friend with concern. “Are you alright, mate?” 

Harry glanced at Kingsley and nodded. “Oh… yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I’ll come back later.” 

“Harry, Hermione told us you were at St. Mungo’s,” Kingsley spoke up. “Are you sure that everything is alright?” 

Harry nodded quickly. “Yes, sir. I just needed Hermione’s help with something not work related,” he said. “I’ll leave you to it.” 

“No need,” Kingsley said, standing up. “I have a meeting I need to get to. You know where I am if I can be of any assistance?” 

Harry nodded again, standing aside to let Kingsley pass. “Thank you, sir.” 

Waiting until he was sure Kingsley had gone, Harry closed the door and turned to Hermione and Ron. 

“I’m apparently betrothed to Draco Malfoy,” he announced.

“What?!” Ron yelped, and Harry was sure that if he hadn’t already been sitting down, he would have fallen over. 

“It _was_ old magic then?” Hermione asked, a sympathetic expression appearing on her face. “Can’t St. Mungo’s help?” 

Harry shook his head. “Apparently not. The Healer we saw basically told us we have to get used to it, whether we like it or not.” 

“Mate… how has this even happened?” Ron asked, staring at Harry with wide eyes. 

“I found an old candlestick while I was cleaning up Mrs Black’s room,” Harry said, slumping into the seat that Kingsley had vacated. “There was only one - it had the Black family crest on it - and I’m guessing that the other one is in Malfoy Manor. The Healer said that the magic bonds established couples, but could also be used to betroth couples, which is what’s happened. He did say that normally the couples were people already attracted to each other, though, so this might be a first.” 

Hermione frowned and stood up. She went to her bookcase and pulled out a couple of books. “There must be a way to counteract the magic,” she said.

“The Healer said it would be lengthy and complicated to even try,” Harry sighed. “So…” 

“Harry, you can’t spend your life married to Draco Malfoy if neither of you wants it!” Ron exclaimed. “You’d both be miserable! Have you even thought about that?” 

“Well it’s not like we have to live together, is it?” Harry said, shrugging. “We probably don’t even _have_ to get married.” 

Hermione paused in her page turning and exchanged a look with Ron before turning to Harry. “Harry, you don’t understand,” she started. “This magic is powerful. If it’s meant to bond couples, it usually means that it’ll become painful to be apart from your partner if the bond isn’t solidified. You won’t be able to stay at Grimmauld Place if Malfoy is at the manor. It will _physically hurt_ you. Both of you.” 

Harry felt the colour drain from his face. “W-what?” 

“I don’t know what the magic will be capable of in terms of betrothal,” Hermione continued. “But presumably, at some stage, you will need to be near Malfoy at all times until the bond has solidified.” 

“Please tell me you’re joking?” Harry asked, his voice no louder than a whisper now. “You mean I’m actually going to have to marry him?”

“If we can’t counteract it, then yes,” Hermione nodded, seriously. “This kind of magic usually requires close contact to build up the amount of time you’ll be able to spend apart. If it’s been activated today, you might need to move in with Malfoy by the end of the week. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to realise you’re apart right now, since the magic has probably been dormant for quite a long time.” 

“It’s no joke, mate,” Ron said sympathetically. “I’ve heard Bill and Dad talking about people who’ve had accidents with bonding magic before. It’s never pretty, from the sounds of it.” 

“Oh… _Merlin!_ ” Harry moaned, letting his head fall back against the chair. “I’m having dinner with him at six pm, do you think he’ll know this?”

“I imagine that if he doesn’t, his mother will fill him in,” Hermione said. “Did he seem happy about this?”

Harry snorted and shook his head. “No. Not at all. He was quite rude to the Healer.” 

Ron snorted this time. “It’s Malfoy. What did you expect?” 

Harry shrugged. “Dunno. He probably didn’t expect me to punch him, though.” 

Ron’s eyes widened comically. “You _punched_ your fiance?” 

“Don’t call him that!” Harry said. “And yes. Only on the arm. For being rude.” 

Ron snorted again and shook his head. 

“Well, at least it seems the magic wasn’t activated intentionally,” Hermione said. “He’s not trying to trap you into anything.” 

“Why would he?” Harry asked, frowning. “We haven’t seen each other for ages.” 

Hermione looked up again. “He’s still not exactly in favour,” she said. “It wouldn’t be unreasonable for someone in his position to think they could use your reputation to rebuild their own.” 

“But you don’t think he’s doing that?” Harry asked. 

“Not if he’s as annoyed as you about it all,” Hermione said. “He’s not that good an actor.” 

“Hmm,” Harry looked thoughtful.

***

“Mother!” Draco called as he stepped into the cavernous hallway of Malfoy Manor. “ _Mother!_ ”

“What in Merlin’s name are you shouting about, Draco?” Narcissa asked as she appeared on the stairs. 

“That candlestick,” Draco began, his eyes flashing angrily. “That candlestick has somehow _betrothed_ me. To _Harry Potter_!” 

Narcissa paused as she descended the staircase. “And you’re not happy about this,” she said. 

“Happy? Of course I’m not happy, Mother!” Draco exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air. “How could I be happy about being betrothed to Potter?!” 

“Always dramatic, Draco,” Narcissa sighed. “Calm down, darling. What do you mean the candlestick has betrothed you?” 

“There was old magic in it,” Draco replied, his hands on his hips. “To bond couples and betroth them, apparently. I cannot be married to Potter, Mother.”

“Well, no, quite. I’m sure you won’t have to,” Narcissa said thoughtfully, motioning for Draco to follow her to the parlour. “I suppose the candlesticks must have belonged to my parents. I would have had a set myself if I hadn’t met your father.” 

“Mother… why aren’t you more annoyed about this?” Draco exclaimed as he flung himself down on one of the plush sofas. Almost immediately, he jumped up again and began to pace.

“Because you are annoyed enough for the both of us, darling,” Narcissa said, quite serenely as she sat down. “Unfortunately, I fear that you will only get more annoyed.” 

“Why?” Draco asked warily, running a hand through his hair as he paused in his pacing. 

“If that magic is what I think it is,” Narcissa started. “Then you and Mr Potter had better get used to each other fairly quickly. If it is bonding magic, and it has been activated, you will soon feel a compulsion to be near Mr Potter.” 

“I don’t want to be anywhere near him,” Draco snorted, beginning to pace again. “He punched me!” 

Narcissa regarded her son carefully. “Draco, darling, it is nothing to be ashamed about.” 

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear me say that Potter _punched_ me?” Draco asked, confused. 

“Forgive me, yes, I did,” Narcissa said. “But don’t pretend that I haven’t noticed the lack of girlfriends in your life.” 

Draco stopped short, feeling his cheeks grow hot. “I…” 

“Prefer men, I know,” Narcissa replied, waving a hand dismissively. “Just because we haven’t spoken about this, it doesn’t mean I hadn’t realised.” 

Draco looked away, biting his lip. “It never came up,” he muttered as he dropped back onto the sofa. “And that is besides the point, Mother!”

“Be that as it may, Draco, there will be no quick fix for this,” Narcissa replied, trying to pacify her son. “I suggest you either invite Mr Potter to stay here — we have plenty of room, after all — or see about going to live with him. Bonding magic makes it incredibly _painful_ to be apart from your betrothed - whether you like them or not.” 

Draco groaned and let his head fall back against the sofa cushion. “Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“I’m afraid not,” Narcissa sighed, sitting beside Draco on the sofa and patting his knee. “Draco, tell me, is this the worst thing to have happened?” 

Draco lifted his head and gazed back at her for a moment. “No,” he said quietly, realising she was right. He hadn’t spoken to Potter for a couple of years, but he knew that he no longer viewed him as a rival, much less an enemy. “I suppose it’s not. But it’s not ideal, is it?” 

“I know that you can make the best of this,” Narcissa continued. “We can, of course, look into a way of counteracting the magic, but you need to take what I’ve said just now seriously.” 

Draco sighed again, closing his eyes. “We’re meeting for dinner tonight,” he said. “The new restaurant on Diagon Alley.” 

“Good,” Narcissa said. “Will you be inviting him to stay here?” 

Draco took a deep breath before looking back at his mother. “I’ll ask him,” he said. “But I don’t think he’ll accept, not after… everything.” 

Narcissa considered his words and nodded. “I suppose you may be right,” she said. “But you won’t know if you don’t ask him.” 

“I know.” 

“Things will work out, Draco,” Narcissa said gently. “They always do.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco have dinner together.

At quarter to six that evening, Harry Apparated to Diagon Alley. He’d dressed in one of his nicer shirts and a pair of formal trousers, opting for a smart jacket rather than robes. He couldn’t explain the nervous feeling that had settled in his stomach. He’d also realised that the hand he’d touched the candlestick with was _still_ not only tingling, but also becoming more painful — he wondered if this was what Hermione had been talking about. 

Approaching the restaurant, he could see Draco waiting for him. He was surprised to see that he was wearing a suit rather than the dress robes that Harry had expected to see him in. Looking at Draco, Harry could appreciate how good looking the man had become - not that he’d ever been exactly ugly. His skin was smooth and clean-shaven, clearly he had taken care of himself over the last couple of years. Harry was sure he could see a worried expression on Draco’s face, though he couldn’t blame him. He wasn’t exactly thrilled either, but he supposed, if he had to be betrothed, it could be worse.

“Um, hi,” Harry said nervously as he reached Draco’s side. 

“Good evening, Potter,” Draco replied stiffly, as though he found the words difficult to say. 

“So…” Harry started, digging his hands into his pockets. He’d just remembered that he hadn’t managed to tame his hair. 

“After you,” Draco said, holding the door open for Harry. 

“Thanks.” 

Harry slipped past Draco and into the restaurant before coming to a stop. “Have you booked a table?” 

“No,” Draco replied, letting the door swing closed behind him as he stepped inside too. “I didn’t think my name would secure one.” 

“Oh. You, er, you could have used mine,” Harry said, giving Draco a sheepish look. “It doesn’t look too busy at least. We shouldn’t have any trouble getting a table.” 

Draco nodded, the stiffness making a reappearance. “Good,” he said. “You. You look nice… apart from that bird’s nest on your head.” 

Harry couldn’t help but let out a bark of laughter. “I deserved that,” he said. “I, er, spent too long looking for something decent to wear to try anything with my hair. Sorry.” 

Draco nodded, allowing himself a small smile. 

Harry looked away after a moment, trying to spot someone to seat them. He caught the greeter’s eye after a couple of seconds, then groaned softly as he recognised the look that had appeared on the young witch’s face. “I should have used Polyjuice,” he muttered. 

“What?” Draco asked, turning to look at the other man curiously. 

“You’ll see in a minute,” Harry replied out of the corner of his mouth as the greeter made her way towards them. 

“Good evening, gentlemen,” the witch smiled at them brightly. “Table for two?” 

“Yes, please,” Harry said. “Oh, could we have your most private table, if there is one?” 

“Of course, sir,” the witch said, smiling again. “Follow me.” 

Draco frowned. “Their _most private_ table?” he hissed in Harry’s ear as they made their way through the tables after the witch. He was vaguely aware that a few heads turned in their direction as they passed.

“Do you want this to be in _The Prophet_ tomorrow?” Harry hissed back, stopping Draco in his tracks briefly. 

“Fair enough,” he muttered, hurrying to catch up again as the witch stopped in front of the last booth in the restaurant.There was no-one in the booth next to it, and the tables in front were also empty, making it fairly private. 

“Your table, gentlemen,” she said, smiling brightly again. 

Harry thanked the witch as he and Draco slid into the booth, and when she asked if she could take their coats, he glanced at Draco who nodded imperceptibly. 

“Yes, thank you,” Harry replied, shrugging his jacket off and handing it to her. He watched as Draco did the same. 

The witch, whose name tag read “Thalia”, gave them what she clearly thought was a charming smile. “I’ll send someone over to take your order in a few minutes.” 

“Thank you,” Draco replied faintly, watching her practically skip to the rack with their coats. Then he turned his attention to Harry. “She’s definitely going to _The Prophet_ , isn’t she?” 

Harry nodded. “I reckon so, yes. How do you want to play this?” 

“Well… I suppose it won’t be too bad if people just see us eating dinner together, will it?” Draco mused. 

“I don’t mind being seen out with you,” Harry replied, shaking his head. “What about you?” 

“There are worse people I could be seen with,” Draco said. “And being seen with you… well, it won’t do my reputation any harm. Yours on the other hand…” 

Harry shook his head. “I don’t care about that,” he said. “I just dread to think what they’ll write about us.” 

Draco snorted softly. “So do I,” he said. “We’re going to have to be careful about what we say, though. Walls have ears.” 

Harry nodded. “I know,” he said. “I understand that you probably don’t want this going public.” 

“Well, no,” Draco admitted. “Especially not if we’re trying to counter the magic.” 

Harry nodded again. “I know. Let’s have a look at the menu before someone comes to take our order,” he said. “I can see Thalia talking to a few of the servers now.” 

“Who?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow as he picked up his menu. 

“Thalia,” Harry repeated. “The witch who greeted us when we came in.” 

“Oh. How do you know her name?” Draco asked absently, running his eyes down the menu. 

“It was on her nametag,” Harry replied, rolling his eyes. “Nice to see you taking notice.” 

“I’m not on a date with her,” Draco muttered. 

“... I didn’t know _we_ were on a date,” Harry said quietly. 

Draco looked up this time, fixing Harry with a stern look. “We’re not,” he said. “Not properly.”

Harry rolled his eyes again. “My mistake. I suppose I should ask, are you seeing anyone that this might cause a problem with?”

Draco snorted softly. “No. I am, woefully, single at the present time. You?” 

“Same,” Harry replied quietly. “I haven’t really had a relationship since I broke up with Ginny.” 

Draco watched him for a moment before turning his attention back to the menu. “I’m going to have the duck.” 

Harry blinked at the sudden change of subject and then made a face. “I think I’m going to have the lamb chops,” he said. “Are we doing starters?”

Draco looked up. “Do you want a starter?” 

“Well, the sharing platter sounds quite nice,” Harry replied. “There’s quite a selection on there - mussels and clams, chicken tikka, olives…” 

Draco scanned the menu again and nodded. “That does sound quite nice. Let’s have one of those.” 

Harry grinned, feeling slightly more comfortable now that food was the subject of conversation. 

“I’m going to get a bottle of wine,” Draco added. “Do you have any preference?” 

“I’m not really a wine drinker,” Harry admitted. “I’ll trust your judgement.” 

Draco nodded. “Côte de Nuits goes well with lamb and duck,” he said. “We’ll get a bottle of that, if that’s ok?” 

Harry nodded. “Don’t let me drink too much,” he said. 

“Potter, the fact we’re eating dinner together should mean we both drink as much as possible,” Draco replied, setting his menu down. 

Harry snorted. “I’m sure we don’t need to drink ourselves silly to get through this.” 

“Hopefully not,” Draco replied. “I’d rather not lose control of myself tonight.” 

“Fair enough,” Harry said. “Oh, here comes a server.” 

Draco turned to watch as the server approached them, an excited look in his eyes. “Another one of your fan club, I assume,” he muttered in Harry’s direction. 

Harry kicked him lightly under the table. “Shh.”

Draco glared at Harry across the table but didn’t say anything. 

The next moment, a server arrived at the table. Looking up at him, Harry could see that his nametag read “Alden”. They managed to give him their order without any further incident and he left, promising to return with their wine shortly. 

Draco waited until Alden was out of earshot before he turned his attention back to Harry. “Potter, are you determined to cover me in bruises today?” 

“What?” Harry asked, confused. 

“Well, first you punch me in the Healer’s office and now you’ve kicked me,” Draco said. “Can I expect to be headbutted before our meal is over?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Harry snorted. “Besides, it’s not my fault if you bruise easily.” 

Draco sniffed but before he could respond, Alden returned with their bottle of wine. He poured a small amount into a glass and allowed Draco to taste it. 

Draco nodded. “Lovely,” he said. 

Alden smiled and proceeded to pour them each a glass before setting the bottle down in the wine bucket and leaving. 

“So, this… little problem of ours,” Harry began, aware of what he was saying. “Do you have any idea how to counter it?” 

“Unfortunately, not yet,” Draco replied with a grimace. “Mother was most unhelpful when I told her.” 

“Hermione went straight to a book,” Harry said, sipping at his wine. He couldn’t help but make a face. 

Draco tutted. 

“I told you I’m not much of a wine drinker,” Harry said, defensively. “But anyway, Hermione couldn’t find anything either.” 

“I didn’t think it would be that simple,” Draco sighed. “But we can’t allow this to continue, Potter. I mean, surely you can’t approve of this?” 

“Well, no, of course I don’t,” Harry replied. “But I can’t see how we get out of it.” 

“A Curse Breaker will be able to help,” Draco said. “We can go to them tomorrow.” 

“No,” Harry said. 

“What do you mean, no?” Draco frowned. “Why would you want to prolong this?” 

“I _don’t_ ,” Harry insisted. “But if we go tomorrow after being seen out today, it will definitely be in The Prophet.” 

“Not if we pay them enough,” Draco said pointedly. “Neither of us are poor, we can afford it.” 

“I’m not paying an absolute fortune to get this curse broken, Malfoy!” Harry retorted. “We can just wait a few days till the interest in us dies down. Didn’t you see everyone looking at us as we walked in?” 

“Of course I did, but what if we don’t _have_ a few days?” Draco demanded, glaring at Harry. “What if we’re forced to live together before then?” 

“No-one’s going to force us to live together,” Harry scoffed. “We’re adults. We can decide for ourselves.” 

“No, Potter,” Draco started, his voice rising before Alden returned with their starter. 

“Your starter, gentlemen,” Alden smiled, setting the platter down between them. “Bon appétit!” 

The next few minutes were quiet as the two men tucked into their starter. As irritated as they were with each other, they were also hungry and the food smelled wonderful.

Swallowing, Draco pointed his fork at Harry. “You don’t understand what this magic will do to us.” 

“It’ll bond us, I know,” Harry said, shrugging as he took another bite of chicken tikka. “Hermione said something about it being painful, but I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” 

Draco resisted the urge to bang his head off the table and settled for rolling his eyes instead. “Potter. It will be _agony_.” 

“How do you know?” Harry asked, swallowing. “Have you been bonded to someone before?”

“Obviously not,” Draco replied scathingly. “But I know what this old magic can do. Those candlesticks belonged to my grandparents, according to Mother. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the kinds of things they believed in and practiced?” 

Harry made a face. “No, I can imagine,” he said. 

“Exactly. Mother said that if she hadn’t married Father, those candlesticks would have been used for her and whoever they deemed fit,” Draco said, popping a mussel into his mouth. “Whether they liked it or not. This magic is designed to do a proper job.” 

“Great,” Harry muttered. “So we actually _do_ have to get married or... what, we die?” 

“Probably,” Draco nodded. “It would be the kind of thing they’d do. Now, I don’t know about you, Potter, but I don’t want to die because I haven’t got married to whoever these candlesticks have decided on.” 

“Well, no, I don’t either,” Harry sighed, picking up a honey rib. “But tell me, Malfoy, do you want to be married to me?” 

Draco snorted. “Definitely not,” he said. “But if we can’t get this magic reversed, we might have no choice. Do you understand why I want to go to the Curse Breakers as soon as possible?” 

Harry sighed again. “It’s not that I don’t understand it,” he started. “I _do_. I just think we’re risking all sorts of exposure by running straight to them.” 

“So what?” Draco asked, shrugging. “It’s not like we’ve done this on purpose. Or are you afraid that people will laugh at The Boy Who Lived getting cursed by a family heirloom?” 

Harry bristled and glared at Draco. “Shut up. You know I don’t care about things like that!” 

“Could have fooled me,” Draco said, his gaze unfaltering. “I don’t understand why you don’t want rid of this curse as soon as possible!” 

“For the last—” Harry started through gritted teeth before being interrupted by the appearance of Alden, again. 

“Everything okay with your starter, gentlemen?” he asked, smiling widely at them. 

“Yes, thank you,” Draco replied crisply. “In fact, we’re done with it. Can you bring our main course out, please?” 

“Of course, sir,” Alden said immediately, his smile slipping at Draco’s tone. He swiftly gathered up the remains of the sharing platter and swept them away. 

Harry sat back against the booth wall and pushed both hands into his hair, ignoring the disapproving look that Draco gave him. “Can I ask you something?” 

“You just did,” Draco sniffed, raising one eyebrow. 

“Ha ha, very funny,” Harry muttered. “How’s your hand?” 

Draco looked down at his hands. “Well, it’s still here,” he said. 

“Is it, you know, tingling still?” Harry asked, looking away. 

Draco paused as he considered Harry’s question. “Not anymore,” he admitted quietly. 

“Mine neither,” Harry said, swallowing as he looked at Draco. 

Draco closed his eyes briefly. “I was afraid of this,” he muttered. 

“Well. We can test it now. I need the loo, I’ll be back in a couple of minutes,” Harry sighed, sliding out of the booth and heading for the restaurant toilets. He groaned as his arm began to tingle even more the further away from the table he got. 

“Thank Merlin you’re back,” Draco muttered when Harry slipped back into the booth a few moments later. 

“I know,” Harry said, making a face. “Looks like we’re stuck then. Curse Breakers tomorrow?”

“Finally!” Draco said. “I’ll owl them as soon as I get home. Oh. I promised Mother I’d ask… would you consider staying at the Manor if we’re not able to counteract the magic quickly?” 

“What? No!” Harry exclaimed, a bit too quickly. “I can’t live there!” 

“Why not?” Draco demanded, his eyes flashing. “Think you’re too good for the Manor?” 

“It’s not that,” Harry said, just as quickly. “I… wouldn’t you feel weird, me being there?” 

“Your main course, gentlemen,” Alden appeared suddenly, interrupting the conversation once more. 

“Thank you,” Draco said automatically, sitting back slightly so that Alden could put the plate down in front of him. 

“Please, enjoy,” Alden smiled, whisking the tray away. 

Harry inhaled deeply before pouring mint sauce over his lamb. “This curse is almost worth it to get food this good out of it,” he said. 

“Indeed,” Draco said. “Just remember, we’re paying for our own food and we’ll go halves on the wine and starter.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “I haven’t forgotten, don’t worry.” 

Draco shook his head, picking his knife and fork up. “Good. Or I might think you _wanted_ this to be a date.” 

“I do not!” Harry retorted, cutting into one of the lamb chops. “I just really like the food.” 

“Hmm. Whatever,” Draco replied, cutting a slice of duck and spearing a potato slice. He popped the forkful into his mouth and chewed slowly, savouring the taste. 

Harry made a face at Draco before concentrating on his own food. 

For the next few minutes, they ate in silence, enjoying their respective meals. 

“So, why are you so against moving into the Manor?” Draco asked, putting the last of his potato and leek into his mouth. 

Harry swallowed the mouthful of food he was currently chewing. “I don’t… I wouldn’t be comfortable living in the home of people who have actively hated me for the last few years,” he said. 

Draco frowned. “I don’t hate you now. I don’t know if I ever really did,” he admitted. “As much as that pains me to admit.” 

“There’s not just you in the Manor though, is there?” Harry pointed out, putting his knife and fork down. 

“Then what do you suggest?” Draco asked in exasperation. 

“You can move in with me, if you want,” Harry replied carefully. “There are a couple of spare rooms at my place, and you’d be free to come and go as you please.” 

“I’m free to come and go as I please now,” Draco muttered, making a face. “How is that any better than you coming to the Manor?” 

“Well… my place is… smaller,” Harry said, racking his brains to think of a plausible reason. “We’d probably not have to be as close for the tingling to stop.” 

Draco snorted. “That is a ridiculous reason, Potter.” 

“Is it though?” Harry asked. “You felt it when I went to the toilet, I know you did.” 

“Well… so? The Manor is very comfortable,” Draco replied. “And we have House Elves.” 

“I have a House Elf,” Harry said before he could stop himself. 

“... You have an Elf,” Draco said slowly. “That’s right… it’s _his_ fault that we’re in this mess!” 

“What? What are you talking about?” Harry asked, feeling angrier at Draco blaming Kreacher than he expected to be . 

“Why do you think you only had one candlestick?” Draco asked. “And how do you think the other one ended up in Malfoy Manor?!” 

“Well, I… your family…” Harry stuttered, realising that Draco was right. 

“Don’t you dare blame my family for this,” Draco said warningly. “None of my family have set foot in Walburga Black’s house for decades.” 

Harry groaned and let his head fall back against the booth wall with a thud. “Ow,” he muttered, sitting forward and rubbing the back of his head with one hand. “Right. So I’m guessing you don’t want to be the first one to do it. Fine.” 

“Fine is right,” Draco replied, folding his arms across his chest. “No-one is going anywhere but their own house tonight.” 

“Nope,” Harry said, mirroring Draco’s position and folding his own arms. “You’ll need to owl me what time the Curse Breakers will see us.” 

Draco nodded, then looked around for Alden. Raising his arm, he signalled that they were done. 

Alden arrived and took their plates away, returning swiftly with dessert menus. 

Harry looked at the menu once, then up at Draco. “I’m not really in the mood for dessert,” he said. 

“No. Neither am I,” Draco sighed. He looked at Alden. “We’d like the bill please. We’ve decided against dessert tonight.” 

“Very well,” Alden said, nodding and collecting their menus with a flourish. “I’ll bring it right over.” 

“Thank you,” Draco replied, sitting back against the booth wall. “So, Potter. Do you think you’ll be able to survive without me tonight?” 

Harry snorted. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “What about _you_?” 

“Please,” Draco scoffed. “I will be _more_ than fine. Mother will be there to keep me company. Who will you go home to?” 

Harry frowned, narrowing his eyes at Draco. “You know there’s no-one.” 

“Oh, sorry,” Draco said, not sounding sorry at all. “My mistake.” 

Harry shook his head, wishing that Alden would hurry up with the bill. He needed to get home so that he could Floo call Hermione to complain about this whole evening. 

A moment later, Alden appeared and presented Draco with the bill. 

“Thank you,” Draco said without looking at the man. He picked the bill up and studied it. “Seven Galleons each.” 

“Are you sure?” Harry asked.

“I do know how to count, you know,” Draco said, giving Harry a withering look.

“Sorry, sorry,” Harry muttered. “Have you included a tip with that?”

“No,” Draco said. “What do you think, another two Galleons each?”

Harry considered and nodded after a moment. “That seems fair,” he said. “I just think if we don’t leave one, it’ll be mentioned in _The Prophet_.” 

Draco nodded. “I didn’t think of that. A four Galleon tip isn’t too much is it?” 

Harry shook his head. “I think it’s about right,” he said. “Any less and people would say we think we’re better than everyone, any more and they’ll say we’re showing off. We can’t win.” 

Draco snorted. “Very astute, Potter,” he said. 

They both slid out of the booth, Draco picking up the bill as they made their way to the counter to pay. 

“I hope everything was to your liking, gentlemen?” Thalia asked as she handed Harry his jacket. 

“Yes, thank you,” Harry said, smiling as they put their jackets back on. 

“Everything was lovely,” Draco said. “I’m sure we’ll be back.” 

Thalia beamed at them and hurried to open the door. “Have a good evening!” 

“You too,” Harry smiled as they left the restaurant and turned down the street, heading for the Apparition point. They walked close enough together to avoid triggering the magic, but not so close that they’d be mistaken for a couple. Harry felt slightly awkward as he glanced at Draco out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t sure that they’d be able to get through this. 

“I’ll owl you the minute I hear from the Curse Breakers,” Draco said as they reached the Apparition point. “Hopefully they’ll be able to fit us in early tomorrow morning.” 

“Alright,” Harry nodded. “See you tomorrow, then.” 

Draco nodded once and then turned, disappearing with a pop. 

Harry Apparated a second later, arriving at Grimmauld Place with a slightly louder pop.


	3. Chapter Three

“Ah, Draco, you’re back.” 

Draco turned as he entered the manor to see his mother making her way downstairs. “Yes, just.” 

“How was dinner?” Narcissa asked, reaching his side. 

“The food was nice, the wine was good, Potter is an idiot,” Draco replied, shrugging one shoulder. 

Narcissa frowned slightly. “Explain.” 

“Well,” Draco huffed. “He didn’t realise that this is powerful magic. He thought it would be okay to wait a few days before going to the Curse Breakers.” 

“Did you explain it to him?” Narcissa asked, taking Draco’s arm in hers and leading him into the parlour to sit down. 

“Of course,” Draco replied. “I _think_ I made him see sense. I need to owl the Curse Breakers this evening and let him know what time they’ll see us.” 

Narcissa nodded in response. “Alright, though… you do know that they might not be able to help?” she said cautiously. “At least not straight away.” 

“I know,” Draco said. “But at least we can make a start.” 

“And did you ask Mr Potter about coming to stay?” Narcissa asked, watching him carefully. 

Draco made a face but nodded once more. “Yes. He refused. Said he couldn’t live here with people who hated him.”

“I don’t hate him,” Narcissa said quietly. “Perhaps, once, I wasn’t particularly enamoured with him. But… we owe a lot to him, Draco. There is no getting past that.” 

“I know, Mother,” Draco replied softly. “I don’t hate him either. I told him that, but it made no difference.” 

“That’s a shame,” Narcissa sighed. “It would have been nice to have someone else here to talk to.” 

“I know,” Draco said, his voice still soft as he rested his head on his mother’s shoulder. “I know it’s lonely for you.” 

Narcissa kissed the top of Draco’s head gently. “Not just for me,” she said. “For you, too.” 

Draco sighed but didn’t say anything. 

Narcissa patted his knee gently. “It will get better. Did you ask about going to stay with Mr Potter instead, then?” 

Draco snorted. “No, I didn’t. He suggested it. I turned him down.” 

“Why, Draco?” Narcissa asked, biting back the sigh that wanted to escape. 

“It’s his elf’s fault that we’re in this mess,” Draco replied. “How could I go and live in the same house as him? And… if I go, you’ll be here alone and I don’t want that.” 

“Oh, Draco, don’t be silly,” Narcissa tutted. “I can manage quite well on my own. Are you in pain right now?” 

Draco hesitated before answering. “No.” 

“Don’t lie,” Narcissa said in a quiet voice. “I know how this magic works. Are. You. In. Pain?”

“Yes,” Draco admitted, dropping his voice to a whisper. “My hand is… it was tingling but it… it’s hurting now.” 

“Go and owl the Curse Breakers,” Narcissa said. “Then, I suggest you owl Mr Potter and enquire about his well being.” 

Draco nodded, kissing Narcissa’s cheek before standing up. “Thank you, Mother.”

***

“Hermione!” Harry called through the fireplace.

“Harry, how did your dinner with Malfoy go?” Hermione’s voice was heard, before she came into view and settled herself in front of the fireplace. 

“We had nice food,” Harry said. “You’ll probably read about it in The Prophet tomorrow.” 

Hermione frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“You should have seen the looks on the faces of the staff at the restaurant when they saw me,” Harry said, his voice bitter. “Especially when they saw who I was with.” 

“Did anyone say anything to the two of you?” Hermione asked, still frowning. 

Harry shook his head. “No, but they knew who we were and that we were eating dinner together,” he said. “You know that that’s the kind of story that The Prophet will love.” 

“Well… I suppose you’re not wrong,” Hermione said slowly. “Are you bothered about them printing it?” 

“I couldn’t care less, you know that,” Harry said. “But it’s not going to be ideal having those rumours flying about when we are… well, you know.” 

“You’ll just have to ignore them,” Hermione said. “Did you accomplish anything with regards to countering the magic?” 

Harry shook his head. “No, unfortunately not,” he said. “It’s… more complicated than I realised.” 

Hermione rolled her eyes. “I _did_ tell you that.” 

“I know, I know,” Harry sighed. “I don’t think I grasped how serious you were.” 

“Clearly,” Hermione said, dryly. “So what are you going to do?” 

“Malfoy is owling the Curse Breakers to try and get an appointment tomorrow,” Harry said. “Until then… nothing.” 

“And what about the pain in your hand?” Hermione asked. 

“It’s… still there. Getting worse, actually,” Harry said, grimacing. 

“Don’t you think you should be, you know, closer to Malfoy?” Hermione said cautiously. “Denying the bonding magic is a very, very bad idea, Harry.” 

“He, er, he asked me to go and stay at Malfoy Manor,” Harry admitted. 

“Then why aren’t you there?” Hermione asked with another frown. 

“Are you kidding?” Harry asked, incredulously. “Would you be able to go and live in that place after what happened?” 

“No, but I’m not the one at risk of being permanently damaged by old magic,” Hermione said. “If I were in your shoes… well, I think I’d go.” 

Harry shook his head. “I’d rather he came here,” he said. “If we have to live together.” 

“Did you suggest that to him?” Hermione asked, raising one eyebrow questioningly. 

“Of course I did,” Harry answered. “He refused. He’s blaming Kreacher for this whole thing.” 

Hermione looked thoughtful. “He’s probably right, Harry,” she said after a moment. “Remember how he would sneak over to the manor to see Bellatrix after Sirius told him to get out?” 

Harry groaned. “I was trying not to.” 

“Harry. You and Malfoy are going to have to get over this,” Hermione said, exasperated. “I don’t want to be hearing about how much pain you’re in every day. And neither does Ron.” 

“You can’t speak for him!” Harry exclaimed indignantly. 

“She’s not! I told her to say that!” Ron called from somewhere behind Hermione. 

Hermione raised her eyebrow again. 

Harry groaned, then looked round at a tapping sound. “Fine. I’ll leave you to it, Malfoy’s owl is here.” 

“Keep us informed!” Hermione said just before Harry ended the call. 

Harry pulled his head out of the fireplace and went to let the owl in. He watched as the bird hopped over the window frame and held its leg out. 

“Thanks,” he murmured, untying the letter and unfolding it.

_Potter,  
Curse Breakers can’t see us until Thursday. I need you to open your wards to admit me. Either that or you get your arse to the Manor. I am not living with this pain until Thursday._

_Send me your reply with my owl. I’ll be waiting.  
D.M._

Harry groaned again as he read the note. Then he looked at the owl. “I suppose you’re not leaving just yet then.”

The owl gazed back at him and clicked its beak impatiently. 

“Alright, alright,” Harry muttered. “Let me find a quill.” 

He moved over to his desk, rummaging in the drawers until he found what he was looking for.

_Malfoy,  
My wards will be open for the next five hours. _

_I can’t live with the pain either.  
HJP_

Harry tied the letter to the owl’s leg and opened the window once more, watching as the bird flew off. As soon as the owl was out of sight, he closed the window and slumped on the sofa. Had he really just invited Malfoy to live with him?

Groaning again, he picked his wand up and conjured his Patronus. “Go and tell Hermione and Ron that Malfoy will be staying with me until Thursday at least. The Curse Breakers can’t see us until then.”

He watched as the great, silver stag bowed its head and disappeared. He knew he should have fire called Hermione, but he didn’t have the energy. His hand was now incredibly painful, to the point where even picking his wand up was hard. Bizarrely, he thought, while Malfoy’s owl had been there, his hand hadn’t hurt quite as much and he wondered if it was to do with residual magic. 

Looking at his watch, Harry sighed. He supposed he should go and make sure one of the guest rooms was to Malfoy’s standard. Heaving himself up off the sofa, he slowly climbed the stairs. He decided that the most logical room for Malfoy to have would be the one closest to his own bedroom. 

Pushing the door open, Harry poked his head round the frame and couldn’t help the groan that escaped. “Oh for… Kreacher!”

Kreacher appeared with a crack. “Master Harry called?”

“Yes. I’m expecting a… guest. Can you clean this room in the next few hours to make it livable?” Harry asked. He hated asking Kreacher to do things he knew he could do himself, but the pain in his hand would hinder any progress he wanted to make. 

Kreacher nodded slowly. “Kreacher could,” he said. “If Master Harry wishes.”

“Yes, please,” Harry said. “I would do it myself, you know I would, but I’m having a... problem with my hand at the minute. I can’t do magic properly.”

“Kreacher will take care of it,” Kreacher replied, ushering Harry out of the room. “Master Harry should rest.”

“Thanks, Kreacher,” Harry said gratefully. “Er, if there’s any Black family silver in there, please remove it.”

Kreacher nodded again, giving Harry a small shove out of the door. 

Harry shook his head and headed back down the stairs. He went into the kitchen to check that he had enough tea bags for two, then with a second thought, he checked that he had some coffee. He didn’t know what Malfoy liked to drink. He knew he had a lot of wine in the cabinet, thanks to the many gifts he’d been given after the war. He hadn’t known what to do with them all and ended up just putting them all in the drinks cabinet and forgetting about them. 

He opened the fridge and looked inside, hoping that there’d be enough food for two - at least for tomorrow. He could send Kreacher shopping tomorrow to stock up. He was pleased to see half a pack of bacon, some sausages, eggs and butter. He knew there was bread, he’d had some toast that morning, so he decided that would be enough to keep them both happy. 

Happy with his survey of the kitchen, Harry headed back into the living room to make sure it wasn’t a complete pigsty. He wasn’t about to start a massive clean up, but he thought it would probably be best if things were at least presentable. The only thing that desperately needed cleaning up was the bedroom that Kreacher was sorting out. Harry hadn’t done much in that one yet, concentrating on his own room and the other rooms that he frequented first. He wondered, idly, whether he could get Malfoy to help him between now and Thursday. 

After tidying up a few old newspapers and work papers, he collapsed back onto the sofa, resting his head against the back cushions. Closing his eyes, he cradled his right hand against his stomach, trying to forget about the pain. He didn’t know how long he’d sat there, but soon enough, he heard the roar of the fireplace in the kitchen as the Floo chimed. 

Groaning slightly, Harry pushed himself off the sofa and went to greet Malfoy. However, walking into the kitchen, he was surprised to see Hermione standing in front of the fireplace, brushing soot from her skirt. “Hermione?!” 

“Sorry, I called through first, but no-one answered,” Hermione replied apologetically. “Are you sure you want Malfoy living here?” 

Harry shrugged, still cradling his right hand with his left. “I don’t really have any choice,” he said. “I can’t go and live at the Manor, Hermione. It would be weird. I mean, it’ll be weird having him here, but I think I’ll cope better like this.” 

Hermione didn’t look convinced. “Alright, if you’re sure,” she said. “Do you need anything doing?” 

Harry shook his head. “No, I’ve got Kreacher sorting out a bedroom for him,” he said. “The one closest to mine seemed the best choice, but I’ve not really done anything in there yet. And… my hand is really painful now so I didn’t want to attempt anything myself.”

“No, I think you made the right choice there,” Hermione said, nodding. “What are you going to do about work?” 

“What do you mean? I’ll be in the office tomorrow,” Harry said, frowning slightly. 

“Harry. Malfoy is coming to stay here because the pain is too great for either of you to deal with,” Hermione pointed out. “Do you think you’ll be able to cope being apart for work tomorrow? I don’t think you’ll be able to go out on any raids if you’re not able to use your wand properly. You’d be too vulnerable.” 

Harry paused, realisation dawning on him. “No, I suppose not,” he sighed after a few moments. “I wonder if he’s thought of that. Maybe I can work from on paperwork from home or something?” 

“I’ll speak to Kingsley tomorrow,” Hermione said. “I’m sure he won’t mind if you take a few days off. I think it’s going to be the only way you’ll get this sorted.” 

Harry nodded slowly. “Thanks, Hermione,” he said. “Er, maybe you and Ron could come for dinner tomorrow?”

Hermione smiled. “That would be nice,” she said. “Will Malfoy mind?”

“I don’t know,” Harry said, shrugging again. “He doesn’t seem as bothered about everything as he used to. He seems like a different person, if I’m honest. And anyway, I’m entitled to invite my friends for dinner if I want to.” 

“Tell him to ask his friends too, then,” Hermione urged. “That way, he might be a bit more comfortable about it.”

“Maybe,” Harry said slowly. “I suppose it’s probably time we made up with them. We’ve all grown up now.” 

Hermione nodded. “I’ve met with Blaise Zabini a couple of times through work,” she said. “He doesn’t seem as bad as I remember. He’s been perfectly pleasant.” 

“Alright, well, I’ll let you know what he says tomorrow,” Harry said. “It depends how much he wants his friends to know about this whole… _thing_.”

Hermione nodded again. “Good point,” she said.

Harry nodded, running one hand through his hair. “I have no idea how I’m going to cope with this, Hermione,” he said. “What if we end up killing each other after an hour?” 

Hermione shook her head. “You won’t,” she said. “You’re not sixteen anymore.” 

Harry groaned at the memory. “Thanks for that reminder,” he muttered. “I don’t know how long it’ll take his owl to get back to him. I suppose he’ll be here soon. If you don’t hear from me by lunchtime tomorrow, please come and check on us.” 

Hermione laughed, shaking her head again. “You’ll be fine, Harry,” she said. “I’ll speak to you tomorrow.” 

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, watching as she stepped back into the Floo and disappeared. 

Once he was alone again, Harry sat down heavily at the kitchen table. He rubbed at his right hand, wishing he could stop the aching and tingling that was persisting. He gazed at the fireplace, willing it to burst into life again just to ease the pain.

***

Head resting on his arms, Harry found that his mind wouldn’t rest. Every encounter he’d had with Draco Malfoy–and his parents–ran through his head. Their first meeting in Madam Malkins, then their next meeting on the train, right through until the last time he’d seen Malfoy at his trial. Almost every meeting he could remember had been filled with animosity, with the exception of the most recent ones. He remembered the moment he’d realised that Malfoy was no longer his biggest worry, and he remembered knowing that Malfoy was up to something in sixth year, but instead of trying to help, he’d almost killed him. Groaning, he wondered how on Earth they were going to live together without fighting.

After Harry had been sitting at the table for half an hour, his head still resting on his arms, the Floo chimed and then roared. Surprised, Harry lifted his head quickly, knocking his glasses askew in the process. He straightened them and watched as Draco stepped out of the fireplace, an almost embarrassed look on his face. 

“Malfoy!” Harry gasped, clutching at his right arm again as the pain immediately subsided. 

“I hope you’re not going to be surprised every time you see me over the next few days,” Draco replied stiffly, looking around the spacious kitchen. 

“Of course not,” Harry said quickly, though he privately thought that he probably _would_ continue being surprised by the presence of his former rival in his home. “That’s just the first time my arm has stopped hurting since we left the restaurant.” 

Draco looked back at him for a second before nodding. “Mine too.” 

Harry bit his lip. “So, erm, welcome to Grimmauld Place,” he said, gesturing to the kitchen. “Kreacher is just preparing your room.” 

“I hope he can be trusted,” Draco said, unable to help himself. He was still annoyed that the elf was responsible for the candlestick being in the manor. 

“Of course he can,” Harry snapped, frowning at the blond. “I would have done it myself if my arm hadn’t been hurting.” 

“Sorry,” Draco said, holding his hands up in apology. “I didn’t mean… this is weird, you know?” 

Harry sighed and sat down at the table again. “I know. I suppose we need to try and get along now we’re living together.” 

Draco nodded, sitting down hesitantly. “I never thought I’d be relieved to be in such close proximity to you,” he admitted.

“Same here,” Harry said. “I suppose I should show you ‘round. Nothing is off limits, just… make yourself at home.” 

“A tour would be nice,” Draco said, nodding. “I have my trunk, it’s in my pocket.” 

Harry smiled at the ridiculousness of the statement. “I’ll show you the rest of the house and then your room,” he said. “Then you can get your trunk out and unpack.” He stood up and moved around the table. “The fridge and freezer are here,” he said, opening the fridge door unnecessarily. “Obviously Kreacher will cook for you if you want him to, just ask. He’s pretty good now that I’ve got him to stop making the same thing over and over again.” 

“What did he make?” Draco asked with interest. 

“Sausage casserole,” Harry replied, making a face. “I grew to _hate_ sausage casserole.” 

“...I don’t think I’ve ever had it,” Draco said, looking slightly amused. 

“Please don’t tell him that,” Harry said, seriously. “He’ll make it for you and then he’ll make it for me.” 

“I’ll consider not telling him,” Draco replied, a smirk on his face. “Come on, continue with the tour.” 

Harry narrowed his eyes slightly but then turned to the cupboards. “Tea and coffee is in here,” he said. “I don’t know which you prefer. I’m a tea drinker, myself, but there is some instant coffee. I know it’s probably not what you usually have, but I’m sure it’ll do until we can get more.” 

Draco nodded. “I do prefer coffee,” he said. 

“Okay. Well, the mugs, cups and glasses are in this cupboard here,” he said, opening another cupboard door. “And plates are underneath. Cutlery is in the top drawer,” Harry continued, trying to remember what might be important to tell a house guest.

Draco nodded again, trying to remember what Harry was telling him. 

“If you can’t find anything, just ask me or Kreacher,” Harry said, running a hand through his hair once more. 

“Alright, I will, thank you,” Draco replied. 

“Right, follow me,” Harry said, moving to the door and stepping into the hall, waiting for Draco.

Draco stood up and quickly followed Harry into the hall, lest his right arm start hurting again. It hadn’t escaped him that the pain had spread from his hand to his whole forearm by the time he left for Grimmauld Place. 

“Okay, this here is the living room,” Harry said, pushing open the door opposite them and showing Draco into the warm room. 

“This is nice,” Draco said, looking around him. “I… didn’t expect it to be so… bright.” 

“That’s something I changed straight away,” Harry admitted. “It was very dark before.”

Draco nodded. “I can imagine,” he said in a quiet voice. 

“It took a lot of cleaning up,” Harry said. “But I think I did a decent job.” 

Draco looked around again. “Yes, I think I’d agree with that.” 

“Thanks,” Harry said, flushing. “So, yeah, this is the living room. The wireless works, and there’s books in the bookcase. There might be room if you have any of your own you want to put in there too, you know, in case we’re stuck like this for longer than we expect.” 

“Thank you,” Draco said. “Maybe when we’ve spoken to the Curse Breakers.” 

Harry nodded this time. “Ok. There’s a dining room just along the hall, but I’ve never really used it. It could probably be repurposed.”

“Can I see it?” Draco asked, looking at Harry. 

“Well, yeah, of course,” Harry said, leading Draco down the hall and to the dining room, pushing the door open. 

“This would make a nice office,” Draco said, gazing around the room. “Because, let’s face it, neither of us is going to be able to actually work at the minute.” 

“Yeah, Hermione pointed that out to me earlier,” Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “You’re right though. We could turn this into an office, there’s more than enough room for two desks. Er, that is if you use a desk? What do you do for work?” 

“I’m a Potioneer,” Draco said. “So I do use a desk occasionally. We could do that tomorrow?” 

Harry nodded too. “Sounds good,” he said. “Hermione is going to talk to Kingsley for me, but I imagine we’ll be in for a visit from him at some point, just so you know.” 

“Doesn’t he know what’s happened already?” Draco asked, turning to Harry again. 

“No, I, er, I didn’t tell him when I saw him this afternoon,” Harry said. “I don’t know why.” 

Draco shook his head slightly. “Because you didn’t grasp how serious the situation was, probably,” he said. 

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but then shut it again and shrugged. “Probably,” he admitted. There was no point denying that he hadn’t realised exactly what the bonding magic meant. 

Draco looked amused. “Right, so what else do I need to know about this place?” 

“Oh, right,” Harry said, remembering the tour. “Upstairs,” he added, leading Draco to the stairs. For reasons he couldn’t fathom, he felt nervous as they climbed them. 

“How many floors does this place have?” Draco asked, craning his neck to look upwards. 

“Three,” Harry said. “There’s not much on the third floor though, just a couple of bedrooms. I’ve been using it mostly as an attic.” 

Draco nodded thoughtfully. 

“Okay, here we are. This is the bathroom,” Harry said, showing Draco into the first room they came to. “Both the bath and shower work, the water gets nice and hot.” 

“Good to know,” Draco said, nodding again. “I like a nice, hot shower.” 

“Mm, me too,” Harry said, trying not to think of Draco in the shower. “There’s plenty of room in the cupboard for your toiletries.” 

“Okay,” Draco said. 

“Those two doors are bedrooms,” Harry said, pointing to one side of the hall. “But they’re not used for anything. I haven’t even cleaned them up yet.” 

“Why not?” Draco asked, raising one eyebrow slightly. 

Harry shrugged. “I haven’t had any reason to,” he admitted. “I’ve, er, I’ve only really cleaned up the rooms I use most.” 

“Makes sense, I suppose,” Draco said, shrugging. 

Harry nodded, grateful that Draco didn’t ask any more. “That room there is my room,” he said, pointing to the door that was furthest away from them on the other side of the hall. “And the one next to it is yours,” he added, moving to open the door to Draco’s room. 

“Am I not getting to see your room?” Draco asked curiously. “I mean, you’ll be seeing mine...” 

“Oh… well, alright,” Harry said, desperately hoping that he hadn’t left the room in too much of a mess that afternoon. He distinctly remembered pulling clothes out of his wardrobe and throwing them on his bed while searching for something to wear to dinner.

They moved down the hall and Harry opened the door to his room. “Er, this is my room,” he said, lamely.

Draco took in the room before him, his eyes moving from wall to wall. “Very nice, Potter,” he said. “I thought you’d have done it out in Gryffindor colours.” 

Harry snorted softly. “No,” he said. “I fancied a bit of a change.”

Draco nodded slowly. “That’s understandable,” he said. “Seven years with the same colours is a bit much.” 

“Yeah… so, your room…” Harry said, edging the door to his room closed again. 

“Yes, please, show me my room,” Draco said, turning expectantly to Harry. 

“Right, ok, I haven’t seen what Kreacher’s done yet,” Harry said, warningly. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, but…” 

“Just open the door, already,” Draco said impatiently. 

Harry pushed the door open, letting Draco look inside first. 

“Your elf has done a good job,” Draco said after a few moments. “He somehow knew not to decorate it in green and silver.” 

Harry stepped into the room to look too and felt his eyes widen as they took in how the room looked. The room was much tidier than Harry had seen it before. The walls had been decorated in blue with a light grey trim and the furniture had been cleaned up. “Wow… he has done a good job. It’s probably a good thing I _didn’t_ do your room myself.” 

“I’m sure you’d have done a good job too, Potter,” Draco said, turning back to face him. “But I like this. It’s, dare I say it, better than my room at the manor.” 

“Surely not?” Harry asked with a mock gasp. 

Draco made a face at Harry. “I can admit when something is nice, you know.” 

“Sorry, sorry,” Harry said, holding his hands up. “So… I’ll, er, leave you to it then.” 

Draco nodded. “Thanks,” he said. “And… thank you for allowing me to stay here.” 

Harry shrugged again. “It was inevitable I suppose, wasn’t it?” he said. “The pain was getting too much.” 

“Yes, but I still didn’t expect you to agree so readily,” Draco said, taking his miniaturised trunk from his pocket. 

“Well… you’re welcome,” Harry said, giving him a small smile as he shut the door behind him. 

As he walked back down the stairs, intending to read a book for a while, Harry noticed the nagging pain return once more. “Oh, for…” he muttered, glancing back up the stairs, but continuing to walk down. 

“Potter!” 

Harry stopped and looked up to where Draco was now hanging over the bannister. “Your arm is hurting again too isn’t it?” 

Draco nodded, looking pained. 

Harry sighed and turned to trudge back up the stairs. “I suppose I’ll have to wait for you then,” he said. “I’m going to go into my room though. We need to know whether we can be in separate rooms up here.” 

“Alright,” Draco said, looking relieved as he watched Harry making his way back up the stairs. 

Harry reached the Draco’s side again as they walked back down the hall. “Give me a knock when you’re ready,” he said. 

“I will,” Draco said, nodding once more as he went back into his room. 

Harry pushed his own door open and went inside. He sat down on his bed and stared down at his right arm, waiting to see if there was any sign of pain. After a few minutes, he realised that nothing was happening and breathed a sigh of relief. At least they would be able to sleep in separate rooms without fear of being in constant pain. 

Another few minutes passed before Harry heard a soft knock at his door. He stood up and opened the door again. “Is your room okay?” 

Draco nodded. “Yes, thank you,” he said. “Were you planning on going back downstairs before?” 

Harry nodded. “I was going to read for a bit before bed,” he said. 

“You read?” Draco asked, unable to disguise the surprise in his voice. 

“No need to sound so shocked,” Harry muttered. 

“What are you reading?” Draco asked, opting not to apologise again. 

“A book I used to read as a child,” Harry said. “It was the only book I had for a long time.” 

Draco looked at him in surprise. “It was?” 

Harry paused, realising who he was talking to, then deciding he might as well be honest. “Yeah,” he said. “My aunt and uncle weren’t exactly generous to me. I often had to make do with my cousin’s hand me downs. And he wasn’t a big reader.” 

Draco stared at him for a moment without saying anything. “That’s why you wouldn’t shake my hand isn’t it?” he asked after a while. 

Harry blinked, wondering for a second what Draco was talking about. Then he nodded. “Yeah, you, er, you reminded me of my cousin. I wasn’t very fond of him, as you can imagine.” 

Draco made a face. “Well, I’d like to think I’ve grown up a bit now,” he said. “Knowing what I do now, I kind of wish I could go back and do everything again.” 

“Everything?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Draco nodded. “Yes. Then I wouldn’t be stuck with this… thing on my arm that I regret massively.”

“Oh…” Harry said, suddenly remembering the Mark that he’d always suspected Draco had taken. He shifted slightly, feeling awkward.

Draco looked away briefly, unsure what to say. “Should we go downstairs then?” 

“Yeah,” Harry said, relieved to have the tension broken slightly. He had a feeling that they’d revisit the conversation later, but for now, he would be glad to go and read and maybe have a biscuit. 

Draco followed Harry down the stairs and into the living room. He watched as Harry went to the bookcase and pulled out a very battered book. “So what is it you’re reading?” 

“ _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ ,” Harry replied, holding the book up so that Draco could see the cover. “It’s a Muggle book.” 

“I’ve never heard of it,” Draco said, honestly. “It sounds interesting though.” 

“It’s aimed at children,” Harry said. “But I love it. It was one of the only things I had to do when I wasn’t at school.” 

“Did your aunt read to you?” Draco asked, studying the bookcase for something to read too. 

Harry paused. “No. I, er, I had to read to myself.” 

“You didn’t get a bedtime story?” Draco asked, turning to Harry in surprise. 

“No,” Harry said quietly, looking away. “I didn’t.” 

Draco realised that the other man was feeling awkward and decided not to push the issue. “Can I read one of your books?” he asked, running his hand over the books in front of him. “I didn’t bring any of mine with me.” 

Harry nodded. “Yeah, help yourself. They’re all books I bought once I got to Hogwarts. Flourish and Blotts had a surprising amount of Muggle children’s books, so I bought all the Roald Dahl books I could.” 

“Is he your favourite author?” Draco asked absently, reading the titles of the Roald Dahl books he’d found on the shelf. He selected ‘The BFG’ and pulled it from the shelf.

“He’s one of them,” Harry said as he sat down in his favourite armchair. “I’ve probably read all of those books at least ten times each.” 

“He must be good then,” Draco said thoughtfully. “I’m going to read this one. I didn’t know Muggles knew about giants.” 

Harry couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t think they do,” he said. “But they do imagine what they’re like. I think you’ll like that one.” 

“What if I don’t?” Draco asked. 

Harry shrugged. “Then you put it back and pick another one,” he said. “You don’t need to read it all if you really don’t like it.” 

“Good to know,” Draco said, turning to survey the room, deciding where to sit. Harry had the best spot, in front of the fireplace, he noted. The other armchair looked too far away from the fire, which left the sofa. He tentatively settled himself at one end of the sofa, finding it pleasantly squashy and comfortable. 

“It won’t break, you know,” Harry said, watching Draco with interest. “You can even put your feet up if you want.” 

Draco flushed slightly. “I wasn’t expecting… it reminds me of the sofas at Hogwarts. They were always more comfortable than the ones in the manor.”

“Really?” Harry asked, surprised. 

“Come on, Potter,” Draco said. “I’m sure you can’t really be surprised to find out that most of the furniture in the manor was chosen for its appearance rather than its comfort?”

“Well, I… I hadn’t really thought about it,” Harry admitted. “I didn’t see any sofas when I was there.” 

“No, you wouldn’t have,” Draco replied darkly. “All of the more… homely furniture was moved out when _he_ arrived. He had no use for it, preferred the plain look.” 

“Sorry,” Harry said. “I didn’t mean…” 

“I know,” Draco cut him off with a sigh. “Don’t worry about it. I’d rather not talk about him if that’s alright with you.” 

Harry nodded. “Fine by me,” he said, deciding that it wasn’t worth pursuing this close to bedtime and turning back to his book. He knew from past experiences that nagging someone to talk when they weren’t clearly uncomfortable only ended badly. “Let me know if you have any questions about that,” he added, gesturing to the unopened book in Draco’s hands.

Draco looked down at the book and frowned. “I’m perfectly capable of reading a _book_ , Potter!” 

“Alright,” Harry said, mildly, not looking up again. “Enjoy.” 

Draco frowned again, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he pulled his feet up onto the sofa, curling his legs underneath him before opening the book.

***

Two hours later, Harry put his book down and stretched his arms above his head, yawning widely.

“Are you enjoying it?” he asked, looking across to Draco. 

Draco didn’t reply, his nose still firmly stuck in the book, drinking in every word on the page. 

“Earth to Malfoy! Come in, Malfoy!” Harry raised his voice, waving his arms to try and attract Draco’s attention. 

“Huh? Oh… what?” Draco asked with a start, finally noticing Harry’s attempts. 

“I asked if you were enjoying it,” Harry replied, an amused smile spreading across his face. “But I guess that’s my answer. I hate to interrupt you, but it’s nearly midnight and I need the toilet.” 

“Oh… can I take this to my room with me?” Draco said, holding the book up. 

Harry chuckled and nodded. “Of course,” he said. “Like I said, make yourself at home. Just don’t drool on the pages if you fall asleep.” 

“Malfoys don’t drool,” Draco replied with a sniff as he stood up. “I can assure you that no harm will come to your book.” 

“Relax, Malfoy,” Harry said, shaking his head as he stood up. “I’m kidding. I can’t imagine you doing anything as undignified as drooling on a book.” 

“Good,” Draco said, holding the book carefully. “I think you’re right, by the way. These Muggles don’t know anything about real giants.” 

Harry grinned. “I told you,” he said. “But it’s a nice thought, isn’t it?” 

“I suppose it is,” Draco said, nodding. “Are we going up then?” 

“Yes,” Harry said. “Kreacher will put the fire out later.”

Draco nodded, moving towards the door. He’d never felt so awkward about going upstairs before. 

Harry picked his own book up as he joined Draco at the door. He wasn’t sure exactly how much space the bonding magic would give them at the moment, given that it hadn’t allowed him to come downstairs earlier. 

“Tomorrow,” Draco began as he headed for the stairs. “I think we need to establish exactly how far apart we can be. We can’t be expected to accompany each other absolutely everywhere.” 

“I was thinking the same thing,” Harry said, following Draco up to the second floor. “I mean, we know that you can’t be in your room with me downstairs, but I have no idea how far that actually is.” 

“Exactly,” Draco said. “And I’ll be honest, I don’t want to have to come with you every time you want to go to the toilet and I can’t imagine you want to do that for me either.” 

“Not really,” Harry admitted. “Hopefully we won’t need to stand right outside the bathroom while the other uses it. We can try that now, the bathroom isn’t too far away from the bedrooms. You go into your room and we’ll see if we’re able to do that.” 

“Alright,” Draco nodded. “Goodnight, then,” he added as he opened the door to his room. 

“Goodnight,” Harry repeated, continuing to the bathroom. He held his breath as he managed to get inside the room without his arm starting to hurt. He was thankful that the magic didn’t seem to be protesting at this distance as it would certainly make things easier. He finished up, washed his face and hands and headed to his own bedroom. 

Harry set his book down carefully and undressed before climbing into his bed. He settled himself against his headboard and started to read again. He’d only been reading for five minutes when he was interrupted by a voice coming from the next room. 

“Potter?” 

Harry blinked and looked at the wall between his and Draco’s rooms. “Malfoy?” 

“What’s a snozzcumber?” 

Harry burst out laughing at the unexpected question. “It’s what makes up The BFG’s diet,” he said after a few minutes. “It’s not real, don’t worry.” 

“Oh. Good. They sound disgusting,” Draco replied. “I was worried you might eat them and try and make me try some.” 

Harry laughed harder. “No, I promise that won’t happen.” 

“Okay. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, Malfoy,” Harry answered, still chuckling to himself. He decided to finish the chapter he was reading and call it a night. He was sure that tomorrow was going to be a long day. 

On the other side of the wall, Draco was making the same decision. So far, he thought, living with Potter hadn’t been too bad. He hoped it would continue to go so well.


	4. Chapter Four

The next morning, Draco woke up with a start. His right arm had suddenly begun to burn as though he’d been set on fire. Clutching at it with his left hand, he pushed the duvet off himself and slid out of the bed. Padding to the door, he opened it and stepped onto the landing just in time to see Harry appear at the top of the stairs. “Potter!” 

“Sorry! I forgot!” Harry gasped, skidding to a stop. He, too, was clutching his arm and was dressed only in a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt. 

Draco glanced down at himself, realising he was only dressed in a pair of pyjama bottoms. Thin, silvery scars were barely visible on his chest; a memory of a time they would both rather forget. 

Harry flushed as he caught sight of Draco’s bare chest, his eyes lingering on the scars. 

“How far down the stairs did you get?” Draco asked, still rubbing his arm, though it had stopped hurting the moment that Harry had appeared. 

“Right to the bottom,” Harry replied, frowning slightly. “I must have still been half asleep because I didn’t notice it hurting until then.” 

“My arm felt like it was on fire,” Draco said, also frowning. “Please don’t do that again.” 

“I’ll try not to,” Harry said, sincerely. It had been a genuine mistake on his part, but it was certainly not one he wished to repeat. The pain he’d felt yesterday had been nothing compared to that morning’s pain. 

“Good,” Draco said, relieved. “That is not the way I want to wake up again.” 

“Sorry,” Harry said again. “Now you’re awake… do you like tea or coffee in the morning?” 

“Coffee, definitely,” Draco replied. “And I could definitely do with a cup now.” 

Harry nodded. “Do you want to go down like that?” he asked, nodding to Draco’s state of undress. 

Draco looked down at himself again, before looking back at Harry. “If you’re going down like that, then I’m going down like this,” he decided. 

Harry looked down at his own bare legs and nodded. “Fair enough. Come on then.” 

Draco moved to join Harry at the top of the stairs, pulling his door shut behind him. 

Harry turned and headed back down the stairs, Draco following him and wondering how he’d forgotten their predicament so easily. 

Walking into the kitchen, Draco was surprised at how warm the stone floor was under his bare feet. “Why is it so warm?” he asked, unable to hide his surprise. 

“Kreacher keeps the Aga stove burning,” Harry explained. “So it warms the floor. It doesn’t look like it should be warm, does it?” 

Draco shook his head, beginning to open cupboard doors in search of the mugs. “Aha!” he exclaimed when he finally opened the right cupboard. 

Harry smiled to himself and shook his head. He moved to fill the kettle and set it on the stove to boil. 

Draco brought two mugs over and set them on the counter beside the stove. “Do you always make your own coffee?”

“On a morning, yes,” Harry said, pulling the jar of instant coffee out of the cupboard. “It’s easier than bothering Kreacher. It’s the only cup of coffee I tend to have so I like to make it myself.”

“You’re strange,” Draco said, watching as Harry spooned instant coffee into the two mugs.

Harry shrugged. “Do you take sugar?” 

“Are you suggesting I’m not sweet enough already, Potter?” Draco asked, raising one eyebrow.

Harry snorted. “I wouldn’t dare,” he said. “You’re clearly sweet enough to cause a toothache.” 

Draco smirked. “You’d better believe it.” 

Harry shook his head again, looking down to hide his smile. Before he could say anything else, the kettle began to boil. He lifted it off the stove and filled the two mugs with water.

Draco turned to get the milk out of the fridge, leaning over to pour some into each mug. As he put the top back on the bottle, the Floo chimed, making him jump violently. 

“Nice PJs, Malfoy,” Ron sniggered from the fire. 

Draco scowled and gave Ron the finger before putting the milk back in the fridge. 

“You two look cosy,” Ron said, looking at Harry now who had lifted his mug to take a sip. 

“We’ve only been down here for five minutes, Ron,” Harry replied. “Why are you calling so early?” 

“Hermione asked me to call you and let you know that Kingsley will be calling to see you this morning,” Ron replied, eyeing Draco as he took a sip from his own mug. “You probably want to make sure you’re dressed for that.” 

“We’re not planning on staying like this all day,” Draco muttered. “At least, I’m not. Potter?”

“No, definitely not,” Harry said, firmly. “You know I have to have a cup of coffee when I wake up, Ron.” 

“I know, I know, I’m just messing with you both,” Ron grinned. “I didn’t expect to see you both looking so domesticated, that’s all.” 

“Potter tried to come downstairs without me,” Draco said stiffly. “The magic wouldn’t let him, that’s all.” 

“Ah,” Ron said, nodding in understanding. “Did it stop you both from getting dressed too?” 

“Stop it, Ron,” Harry said warningly, before Draco could reply. “I know you find this amusing. We don’t.” 

“Alright, alright,” Ron said. “I’ve got to go anyway, I’m needed in the office. Hermione will probably call later.” 

“Right,” Harry said, nodding. “See you later.” 

Ron disappeared, but not before Draco caught sight of him laughing again. 

“Well, that was pleasant,” he said, making a face. “I hope he’s not planning on calling every morning.” 

Harry shrugged, taking another sip of coffee. “I doubt it,” he said. “He doesn’t usually call. But he has reminded me of something. I asked him and Hermione to come for dinner tonight.”

“Why?” Draco asked, looking at Harry with one eyebrow raised. 

“I thought it’d be nice,” Harry replied defensively. “You can ask your friends too if you want. In fact, Hermione positively encouraged it.” 

“My friends have no idea about our… situation,” Draco replied. “And I intend on it staying that way. If we can counter the magic, there’s no need to tell them about this.” 

Harry frowned. “It’s not like we’ve done this on purpose,” he said. “Surely they’re not going to care?” 

“Potter, that question just proves you don’t know Pansy,” Draco sighed. “It’s not that she’ll _care_ , but she _will_ tease mercilessly. She will find this _hilarious_ , trust me.”

“Well, does that matter?” Harry asked, still frowning. “Ron finds it hilarious…”

“Weasley is nowhere near Pansy’s league when it comes to this kind of thing,” Draco said. “ _Everyone_ within a hundred mile radius will know about our predicament in minutes if Pansy finds out.”

Harry took another sip of his coffee, looking doubtfully at Draco. “Alright, well, what about your other friends?”

Draco shook his head. “There’s only Zabini. If he gets drunk, he’s a _nightmare_.”

“I don’t mind that,” Harry said desperately. “Look, I just want… I want you to feel at home here.”

“I know, and I appreciate the effort, Potter,” Draco said. “But honestly, you don’t need to put yourself out. We’ll speak to the Curse Breakers on Thursday and hopefully I’ll be out of your hair by Friday.”

“Do you really think it’ll be that easy?” Harry asked, sitting down at the table. 

Draco sat down opposite him. “I don’t know,” he said. “But I hope so.”

“And what if they can’t do anything? Are you going to hide from your friends forever?” Harry asked, draining his mug. 

Draco sighed and looked away. “I don’t want to think about that just yet,” he said. “Listen, it’s not that I’m… opposed to marrying a man. Far from it. But... you and me? Do you think it could work?”

Harry gazed back at him thoughtfully. “Honestly? No,” he said after a few moments. “I’m not opposed to marrying a man either though. Just so you know.” 

Draco regarded Harry carefully before nodding. “Alright. What time do you think Kingsley will stop by?” 

Harry turned to look at the clock on the wall. “He’ll be in an interdepartmental meeting now,” he said. “So, probably in about an hour and a half.” 

“Okay, well that gives us plenty of time to turn that room into an office,” Draco said, standing up and putting his mug into the sink. “Come on.” 

Harry stood up hurriedly, as Draco headed for the door, depositing his mug in the sink as he followed. He followed him up the stairs. “I suppose you want first use of the bathroom?” 

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Draco asked over his shoulder. “Is it ok?” 

Harry sighed. “Yeah, whatever,” he said. “I’ll wait in my room.” 

Draco grinned. “Thanks,” he said, continuing down the hall and into the bathroom. 

Harry shook his head again and went into his bedroom. He began looking through his wardrobe again, searching for a pair of old jogging bottoms he knew he’d kept. If they were going to do manual work, he didn’t want to ruin any of his good jeans. He had just laid his hand on them when the now familiar tingling feeling started. 

“Oh, no… no, no,” Harry muttered, grabbing the jogging bottoms and pulling them out of the wardrobe. “Why are you hurting now? He’s only in the bathroom.” Examining his arm, he glanced towards the door to his bedroom. “Don’t tell me we need to be even closer…” 

“Potter?” he heard Draco call from the bathroom, a worried tone to his voice. 

Harry stuck his head out of the door and found himself looking at Draco doing the same from the bathroom. “Yes. My arm is tingling.” 

Draco bit his lip, looking like he hadn’t expected this either. 

“I could, er, I could sit in there while you shower,” Harry said, feeling himself flush as he spoke. 

“Or you could sit outside,” Draco suggested, looking down at the floor. “That should be close enough.” 

“Right, right,” Harry said, stepping out of his room and making his way to the bathroom. “I’ll sit here,” he added, lowering himself to the floor outside of the bathroom door. 

Draco nodded. “I’ll be quick,” he said. “Then I’ll wait here for you.” 

Harry nodded again. “Alright.” 

Draco disappeared back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. 

Harry, sitting on the floor, could hear the shower start but was pleased to note that his arm had stopped tingling. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. How could it have started hurting when last night they’d been in separate rooms and it had been fine? One thing was for sure, he thought, they had to figure this out and _fast_.

***

Half an hour later, both men were showered and dressed in clothes that they didn’t mind getting dusty, though Draco’s clothes were significantly smarter than Harry’s.

“Are you attached to anything in this room?” Draco asked as they stood in the middle of the dining room, looking around. 

Harry took one more look before shaking his head. “No, not especially,” he said. “We should probably check the units though, there might be Black family heirlooms or anything in there.” 

Draco paused and looked at Harry. “Do you want to keep them if there are any?” he asked. 

Harry bit his lip but shook his head. “No. But… maybe your mother might want them?” 

Draco raised his eyebrows slightly, but nodded. “I can ask her,” he said. “She might.”

Harry nodded. “If there is anything, we’ll put them all in a box to one side. Oh… considering what happened last time I tried to clean a cupboard out, maybe we should have gloves on.” 

Draco stopped in his tracks, one hand just short of opening the nearest unit. “Er, that’s a good point,” he said. “Have you got dragonhide gloves?” 

“I might still have my pair from school,” Harry said, trying to think if he’d seen them anywhere lately. He took out his wand. “ _Accio dragonhide gloves_!” 

A couple of seconds later, a pair of gloves flew into the room and Harry stuck his hand out to grab them before they smacked Draco in the face. 

“I see your reflexes haven’t deteriorated since you stopped playing Quidditch,” Draco observed, straightening up again. “Do those still fit?” 

Harry tried one glove on and made a face. “Bit tight,” he admitted. He pulled the glove off and pointed his wand at them again to increase their size before duplicating them. “Here,” he said, handing one pair to Draco. 

“Thank you,” Draco replied, trying the gloves on. “It’s definitely better to be protected in this case.” 

“No problem,” Harry said, giving Draco a small smile. He pulled the cupboard door open and looked inside carefully. “There is some silver in here. But mostly plates.” 

Draco nodded, bending down to look in the cupboard too. “Alright, well, plates can’t do much damage, can they?” 

“You’d know more than me,” Harry shrugged. “Even after all these years of living in the wizarding world, I’m still not a hundred percent sure of stuff like this.”

Draco looked at Harry for a moment. “I sometimes forget that you didn’t grow up with all this,” he said quietly, turning back to the cupboard. 

“I wish I had,” Harry said. “Maybe my life would have been different if I had.” 

“Well, we probably wouldn’t be betrothed if you had,” Draco said. “Both of our lives would probably have been different.” 

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I reckon you’re right.” 

They fell silent as they pulled things out of the cupboards and put them into two boxes - one to go in the bin and one to ask Narcissa about. By the time the Floo chimed, they’d cleared all of the cupboards out and were preparing to vanish the furniture. 

Harry looked at Draco. “Sounds like Kingsley’s here,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “We’d better go and meet him.” 

Draco nodded, though he didn’t look happy about it. He knew, however, that if he stayed, his arm would start hurting again. 

Harry led the way to the kitchen, pushing the door open. “Hello, Minister,” he said as he and Draco entered the room. 

“Ah, Potter,” Kingsley said, turning to face him. “And Mr Malfoy.” 

“Hello, Minister,” Draco said, nodding in acknowledgment. 

“Would you like a drink, Minister?” Harry asked, politely. 

“No, thank you,” Kingsley replied. “I’ve had more than enough coffee in this morning’s meeting.” 

“Malfoy?” 

Draco shook his head, hovering near the door, nervously. “No, thank you.” 

“Please, come and sit down, both of you,” Kingsley said, taking a seat at the table himself. 

Harry and Draco glanced at each other, before choosing to sit down opposite each other at the table. 

“I, er, I suppose Hermione has filled you in, Minister?” Harry asked, twisting his hands in front of him on the table. 

Kingsley nodded. “Indeed she has,” he replied. “I am curious as to why you felt you couldn’t tell me this yesterday, though, Harry?”

Harry shrugged, looking down. “I didn’t know how serious it was,” he said. “It wasn’t until yesterday evening that I really knew how much of a problem it was going to be.” 

“I see,” Kingsley replied, fixing Harry with a stern look. “I thought it may have been down to the fact that you’re an Auror and should really know better than to pick something up without casting your wand over it first?” 

Harry flushed and looked down. “I know, Minister. I suppose I just didn’t think that anything in here would still be dangerous, given that… well…” 

“Hmm, accidents happen, I suppose. What about you, Mr Malfoy?” Kingsley asked, turning his attention to the blond. 

“I knew it was bad,” Draco replied quietly, squirming slightly under the older man’s gaze. “I did try to tell him.”

“I have no doubt that you did,” Kingsley said. “Have you had any luck in trying to counter the curse?” 

Draco shook his head. “The Curse Breakers can’t see us until Thursday,” he said. 

Kingsley nodded in understanding. “I trust you know that they may not be able to help?” he enquired. 

Draco nodded, avoiding Harry’s glance. “We’re hoping that they will though.” 

“Understandable,” Kingsley said. “How are the two of you getting on?” 

Harry glanced at Draco. “Better than I thought we would,” he said. “Although I’m not sure what’s going on with the bonding magic. Last night it let one of us go to the bathroom while the other was in their bedroom. This morning, when we tried that, we were in pain and had to sit outside the bathroom.” 

Kingsley nodded again, looking thoughtful. “It is odd that the distance the magic needs seems to have reduced,” he said. “Normally it would increase with time, though you haven’t been in close contact long enough for that to happen yet.” 

“Have you ever heard of anything like this happening before, Minister?” Harry asked curiously. 

“Not exactly,” Kingsley replied carefully. “I have, of course, heard of bonding magic being used before. But this seems to be a... unique type of magic.” 

Draco snorted before he could help himself. He immediately looked horrified. “Sorry… I just don’t know if unique would be the term I would use.” 

“No, I don’t suppose it is,” Kingsley replied with a smile. “Have you thought about what you will do in the event that the magic can’t be countered?” 

Draco and Harry looked at each other before Harry shook his head. “No, we haven’t,” he said. “We know we should, but…” 

“We’re hoping we won’t need to,” Draco finished. “This,” he added, gesturing between himself and Harry, “Can’t happen.” 

Harry shook his head again. “It really can’t,” he said. “No-one would accept us, plus, we’re not even… you know, attracted to each other.” 

Draco regarded Harry carefully, before nodding in agreement. 

Kingsley scrutinised both men for a moment before nodding his own head. “Alright,” he said lightly. “Though it does seem like you’re getting on alright for now. You will let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, won’t you?” 

Harry nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said. “ We will.” 

“Will this be kept quiet?” Draco asked, a note of worry creeping into his voice.

“No-one will hear anything from me, other than the people who already know,” Kingsley said firmly. “It is your business. Now, I must be going. I have a meeting with the goblins in an hour. Harry, I will send Hermione over this afternoon with some paperwork that you’ll be able to complete at home.” 

Harry nodded, immediately standing up to shake Kingsley’s hand. Draco stood up too. 

Kingsley nodded at them both and stepped into the fireplace, disappearing in a whirl of green flames. 

Once the fire had returned to normal, Harry turned to Draco, biting his lip slightly. “Do you think we should talk about what we’ll do if the magic can’t be countered?” 

Draco shook his head. “No. Because then we’ll be admitting that we’ve failed,” he said. “We just need to get to Thursday.” 

“When we might have to talk about it anyway,” Harry said, folding his arms across his chest. He knew he was pushing his luck again. Draco had made himself clear before that he didn’t want to talk about the possibility of them having to get married, but Harry couldn’t help himself.

“So we’ll talk about it then,” Draco replied, mirroring Harry’s position. “I’m not talking about it now, Potter.” 

Harry frowned at Draco for a moment. “Fine. Let’s get back to the office,” he said, turning and stomping out of the kitchen. 

Draco gave a small yelp and hurried to follow. “Don’t get all stroppy with me!” he growled. “This is _not_ my ideal future!” 

“And you think it’s mine?” Harry said hotly. “Believe me, there are plenty of other people I could imagine spending the rest of my life with instead of you!” 

“You and me both, Potter!” Draco snapped. “But for now, we’re stuck with each other so the sooner we get this done, the better! I have work to do!” 

Harry gave a growl under his breath, but pulled his wand out again and pointed it towards the side of the room where a couple of sideboards stood. “ _Evan-_ ”

“Stop!” Draco cried, holding his arm out. 

“What now?” Harry asked irritably, lowering his wand. 

“Transfigure it,” Draco said. “Don’t vanish it.” 

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but then shut it again, realising Draco had a point. Grumbling under his breath, he concentrated and transfigured one of the sideboards into a decent sized desk. 

Draco couldn’t help but give a smug smile. 

“Go on then,” Harry said, folding his arms again. “Do yours.” 

Draco heaved a sigh and took his own wand out, waving it with a flourish at the other sideboard. He watched as it changed into an ornate, spacious desk. Then he raised an eyebrow at Harry. 

Harry made a face and, in response, vanished a display cabinet that was mostly made of glass. 

“Charming,” Draco muttered. 

“What do you expect me to do, Malfoy?” Harry demanded, turning to face the blond again, his hands on his hips. 

“This is all because I won’t talk about the possibility of us not getting the magic countered isn’t it?” Draco said. “This change of mood. You were fine this morning!” 

“We’re going to have to talk about it sometime, so why not now?!” Harry exclaimed. 

“...Because!”

“Because _what_?” Harry cried in exasperation. “What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not _afraid_ of anything! Just leave it!” Draco yelled back, before stalking out of the room. 

Harry hissed in pain as his arm immediately started to burn. He quickly made to follow Draco, even though he could tell the blond wanted to be left alone. He’d barely stepped foot outside the room when he tripped over Draco, who was sitting on the floor. All of Harry’s anger ebbed away as he took in the sight of Draco who had his knees drawn up and his arms wrapped around them. It was a stark reminder that neither of them really knew the other one that well, and that he had no real idea about what had upset Draco so much.

Blinking, Harry slid down the wall until he was sitting beside Draco. He didn’t say anything, just pulled his knees up to his chest and waited. 

“Sorry,” Draco said in a quiet voice and Harry knew that he was only referring to the pain, not the argument.

“‘S alright,” Harry replied softly. “...I know this isn’t easy for you.” 

Draco sighed and tipped his head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s not that,” he said. “It’s…” 

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Harry said, chewing his lip gently. He didn’t know what Draco was so upset about, but he’d realised that it would be better not to push him. 

“Potter…” Draco started, before trailing off, unsure what he wanted to say. 

“Hmm?” Harry said, turning his head slightly to look at Draco. 

Draco shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.” 

Harry frowned but didn’t say anything. He lifted his gaze to the ceiling. He couldn’t believe that they’d been in the same house for less than twenty four hours and were already shouting at one another. He thought they’d grown up a bit and moved past the constant bickering, but he supposed it would have been a big ask for them to get along completely. 

Draco turned his head to look at Harry. “When Father died… I vowed that I wouldn’t leave Mother alone,” he said. “Then this happened and… I’m here.”

“She’s not really alone though,” Harry said, looking back at Draco. “You’ll be able to see her whenever you want.” 

Draco shook his head again. “It’s not the same, Potter.” 

“Alright, maybe not, but don’t you think it’s a bit of a… well, look at it another way,” Harry said, changing his mind halfway through his sentence. “Does your mother want you to be tied to her? Doesn’t she want you to find someone you _do_ want to spend the rest of your life with?” 

Draco didn’t say anything for a moment. “I… that’s not the point, Potter.”

“Then what is?” Harry asked. “I know we’re hoping we’re only stuck with each other until Thursday, but… I think we’d be stupid not to prepare for the possibility that we can’t get the magic reversed.” 

“Remember when we were at school?” Draco asked suddenly. “We never got along. Why would the candlesticks think we… you know, found each other attractive?” 

Harry shrugged. “Maybe it’s defective,” he said. “Maybe it was just activated by human touch?” 

“Maybe,” Draco said, nodding slightly. “I’m not so sure though. The Healer we spoke to at St. Mungo’s didn’t seem to know much about this particular bonding magic. Wouldn’t you have thought they’d be able to tell if it was something that had gone wrong?” 

“Well… I suppose so,” Harry said slowly. “Maybe we should get a second opinion?” 

“Before we go to the Curse Breakers?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. “But who from?” 

“St. Mungo’s must have _someone_ who’s an expert in this kind of thing,” Harry suggested. “Or, maybe… maybe we owl Professor Flitwick and ask if he would meet us?” 

Draco’s eyes widened slightly. “I don’t want to go to the school,” he said quickly. 

Harry shook his head. “Neither do I,” he said. “But we could see if he’d meet us at Hogsmeade?” 

Draco bit his lip. “Do you think he’d be able to help?” 

“I think… I think it would be worth a try,” Harry replied. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve never pictured marrying someone without, erm, without being in love with them.”

Draco flushed slightly and looked away. “Before Father died, he wanted me to produce an heir to the Malfoy name. He was trying to arrange a marriage for me to some Pureblood girl whose father he knew through work. I’d never met her.” 

Harry frowned slightly, but didn’t say anything. 

“He didn’t care about that. In his eyes, she was the perfect way to carry on the Malfoy name,” Draco continued. “Mother knew I wasn’t happy, that I didn’t want an arranged marriage like that. Mother… well, she’s always known me better than I’ve known myself. She knew I didn’t find girls attractive–as she so kindly reminded me yesterday–but she couldn’t persuade Father to let me find my own way.” 

“She didn’t mind?” Harry asked, unable to help himself. 

Draco shook his head. “No. Still doesn’t. She just wants me to be happy. But, as you can imagine, my happiness was never at the top of my father’s list.” 

“He never gave me that impression, no,” Harry admitted. “Whenever I saw you together, he seemed like… he wanted you to be just like him, whether it was what you wanted or not.” 

Draco snorted softly. “You could say that,” he said. “He wasn’t always like that. I remember him playing games with me when I was small. But in public… he liked to create a certain image and he wanted me to fit in with that image. I tried. I tried so hard. But… it wasn’t me. Not really. I regret almost everything that I did at school.” 

“Is that why you’ve kept out of the public eye since leaving school?” Harry asked curiously, remembering that before their meeting at St. Mungo’s he hadn’t seen Draco since they’d bumped into each other at King’s Cross as they’d got off the train. 

Draco nodded. “I trained as a potioneer in France for a year before returning to the Manor. I set a lab up in one of the spare rooms there–Merlin knows there are plenty–which enabled me to brew everything at home. I dealt mostly with private clients on a mail order basis and under a different name. No-one would have wanted to buy anything with the name Draco Malfoy on it, not after what I’d done at school.” 

Harry frowned again. “But you were cleared at the trial,” he said. “Did that count for nothing?” 

Draco shrugged. “People had made up their minds about me,” he said. “Nothing I could have done back then would have changed their minds.”

“What about now?” Harry asked. 

“People are better,” Draco admitted. “But I try not to attract attention to myself anymore. I just want to live my life and be happy.” 

“So what would make you happy?”


	5. Chapter Five

Before Draco could answer, they heard the Floo chime in the kitchen. 

“Who will that be?” Draco asked, looking at Harry. 

“Probably Hermione,” Harry replied, looking at his watch. “Kingsley said he’d send her over this afternoon. Which reminds me, we haven’t had lunch.” 

“Harry?” Hermione’s voice called from the kitchen. 

“We’re here, Hermione,” Harry called back.

“Won’t she wonder why we’re sat on the floor?” Draco asked, tilting his head slightly. 

Harry shrugged. “She might,” he said. “We don’t have to tell her the truth.” 

Draco looked relieved, but was saved from answering by Hermione’s appearance in the hall. 

“What are you doing out here?” Hermione asked, looking down at them both. 

“Having a break,” Harry replied. He patted the floor next to him. “Join us?” 

Hermione raised one eyebrow, but carefully lowered herself to the floor beside him. “I’ve got your paperwork from Kingsley,” she said. “I’ll leave it on the kitchen table when I go.” 

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, smiling. “We’re changing this room into an office, so I’ll bring it in here once we’re done.” 

“I’m impressed,” Hermione said with a smile. “I didn’t think you’d ever redecorate this house.” 

Harry shrugged again. “It’s about time I did something with the place,” he said. 

“It’s good that you’re doing it now,” Hermione said. “And I don’t want to ruin what appears to be a good day, but…” 

“But what, Granger?” Draco spoke up for the first time. He didn’t like the sound of that ‘but’. 

“There’s something you both need to see,” Hermione replied, pulling something out of the folder she was carrying. “Here,” she added, passing it to Harry. 

Harry unfolded the paper and spread it across his knees. It was a copy of The Daily Prophet, and right there on the front cover was a very intimate looking picture of himself and Draco from the restaurant the night before. Draco was holding his fork out to Harry and, in the picture, it looked like Harry leant forward to take a bite of whatever was on the fork. 

“Oh no,” Harry said in a hushed voice. “I didn’t know someone had taken our picture.” 

“I… that didn’t even happen!” Draco exclaimed, leaning over Harry’s shoulder to look at the picture. “I didn’t feed you anything!” 

“I know, calm down,” Harry said, turning to look at him. 

“Calm down? Potter, look at that! What does the article say?” Draco exclaimed, wondering why Harry wasn’t more upset. 

Harry turned the paper over and felt the colour drain from his face as he read the headline.

_**Harry Potter - Dining With A Death Eater** _

_Diners and staff at Au Troll Endormi, the newest restaurant in Diagon Alley, were surprised to see The Boy Who Lived looking very comfortable as he ate a meal with ex-Death Eater, and schoolboy rival, Draco Malfoy._

_The two men shared a starter before moving on to their main courses and witnesses say that they were very cosy in their booth at the back of the restaurant. They spent the evening talking as they ate and opted to skip dessert as they left together. Alden Rooks, the waiter who served Potter and Malfoy had this to say: ‘They seemed friendly enough with each other. I didn’t hear what they were talking about, but they barely paused to eat.’_

_It is the first time Draco Malfoy has been seen in public since his father, Lucius Malfoy, died. To be seen in the company of Harry Potter, given their history, well it begs the question: what is Draco Malfoy up to? Is he bewitching The Saviour, or is it just possible that there’s more going on between them than they’d like us to believe?_

Biting his lip slightly, Harry turned to look at Draco who had gone very still beside him.

“I’m not,” Draco whispered, not looking at either of them. 

“What?” Harry asked, glancing at Hermione who was watching them anxiously.

“I’m not bewitching you,” Draco said. “I wouldn’t! Why… how could they…”

“Because that’s what The Daily Prophet does,” Hermione said quietly. “They write what they think will get them the most reaction and, unfortunately, you two being seen out for a meal together is big news.” 

“We knew this might happen,” Harry said. “We should have used Polyjuice, I just didn’t think before we went.”

“This is… I…” Draco stammered, lifting one hand to run it through his hair. 

Harry noticed that the blond’s hands were shaking. “It’s okay,” he said. “We know the truth, we…” 

Draco cut him off. “It’s not okay, Potter! They’ve accused me of, well, of doing something that I’ve done in the past–something I regret–and that’s all people will remember!” 

Harry looked at Hermione worriedly. “Can we do anything about this?” 

Hermione shook her head hesitantly. “I don’t think so,” she said. “They haven’t technically broken any laws by speculating…” 

“But morally…” Harry began before trailing off and looking at Draco. They both knew it was silly to expect some of the reporters from The Daily Prophet to have any morals. 

“You know what they’re like,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “You both should know that. You both know Rita Skeeter.” 

“Was it her that’s written this?” Draco asked, leaning over to look at the article again. “I’ll…” 

“No, it’s someone I don’t know,” Harry said with a sigh. “The only thing we can probably do is… you won’t want to do it. _I_ don’t want to do it. But… we could give an interview.” 

Draco shook his head violently. “No. No interviews. But we can’t… we need to owl Flitwick. He needs to come here.” 

He watched as Harry bit the inside of his cheek and nodded. “Alright,” he said. “We can do that. Hermione, will you speak to Kingsley about the article? He mustn’t know about it, he never mentioned it when he was here earlier.” 

Hermione nodded. “Of course. I imagine he’ll put something in place for people coming to the Ministry to try and speak to you.” 

Harry nodded, then looked at Draco again. “Does your mother read The Prophet anymore?” 

Draco shook his head. “No, thankfully not,” he said. “But I wouldn’t mind betting that a copy somehow finds its way into the Manor.”

Harry nodded again then paused. “You need to owl Pansy and Blaise,” he said. “I know you didn’t want them knowing about this, but… I think you’re going to have to tell them.” 

Draco groaned softly but nodded. “I know,” he said. “I’ll do it this afternoon. I’ll even invite them for dinner.” 

Harry smiled despite himself. “Are you and Ron still coming over?” he asked, turning to Hermione. 

“If you want us to,” Hermione replied. “It would be nice.”

Harry nodded. “You’re both welcome,” he said. “It won’t be anything fancy, but we might need all the advice we can get.” 

“Alright, well, I’d better get back to the office,” Hermione said, standing up. “I’ll send you an owl if there’s anything you need to know.” 

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, standing up too. He gestured to Draco to get up as well. “We’re getting some lunch now, then we’ve got owls to send.” 

Hermione nodded, leading the way to the kitchen. 

Draco stretched his arms above his head as he followed Harry. He hadn’t meant to talk about his father, but oddly, he thought, he felt better for doing so. He wondered if there was something else in the magic, designed to _make_ the betrothed couple fall in love even if they hadn’t previously been attracted to each other. He shuddered at the thought, but resolved to ask Flitwick about it, should the man agree to see them. The article had troubled him more than he’d thought it would, but being accused of bewitching Harry stung. He’d made that mistake once before and he’d hoped it had been forgotten. It hadn’t occurred to him until just now that if word got out about the bonding spell, people would almost certainly accuse him of getting up to his “old tricks” and that thought made him feel sick. 

Entering the kitchen, Draco watched as Hermione gave Harry a quick hug and stepped into the fireplace. She gave them both a sympathetic look before the green flames whirled and whisked her away. 

Harry rubbed at his forehead briefly before turning to Draco. He took one look at the blond and shook his head slightly. “Kreacher!” 

Kreacher appeared with a crack. “Master Harry called?” 

“Yes, can you make us some sandwiches please,” Harry said. “And we’re having guests for dinner, will you be able to prepare a roast chicken dinner for six people please? We’d like to eat at… seven?” he added, glancing at Draco, who nodded. 

“Of course, Master Harry,” Kreacher nodded. “Kreacher is pleased to be seeing Master Malfoy,” he added, turning to bow to Draco. “Master Malfoy was one of Mistresses favourites.” 

Draco flushed slightly but smiled. “Thank you,” he said. 

“Alright Kreacher, we’ve got work to do so can you please hurry with the sandwiches,” Harry said, stopping Kreacher before he could say anything else. 

“Of course, Master Harry,” Kreacher said, bowing once more. He moved over to the fridge and began to prepare a platter of sandwiches.

Harry moved to stand at Draco’s side. “Do you want to owl Pansy and Blaise before we eat?” 

Draco nodded. “I think it might be best,” he said quietly. “I brought my owl, he was just out hunting when I got here last night. He got here this morning and went straight to sleep in my room, I hope you don’t mind?” 

Harry shook his head. “No, of course I don’t. Here,” he added, going to a drawer and pulling out some parchment and a quill. “I would leave you to it, but…” 

“I know,” Draco said. “It’s alright. You’re as much a part of this problem as me, I suppose.” 

“Yeah,” Harry said, sitting down at the table with a sigh. “I can’t believe we didn’t notice someone taking our photo.” 

“We were too busy talking,” Draco said, sitting down too. “That was when I was telling you that you didn’t know how serious the situation was.” 

“And you were right,” Harry sighed, turning the paper over to read the article again. “I thought it would have been Thalia that spoke to them, not him.” 

“I knew there was something about him that I didn’t like,” Draco muttered darkly. “Do you mind if I don’t tell Pansy and Blaise everything in the letter? I’d rather tell them in person.” 

Harry shook his head. “No, as long as you don’t mind me being there when you do tell them,” he said. “Given that we can’t be that far away from each other anymore.” 

Draco shook his head too. “It’ll be easier to tell them if you’re there too.” he said. “It’ll prove I’m not just being dramatic.” 

Harry gave him an amused look. “Well, you do have a dramatic flair,” he said. 

“Oh, shut up,” Draco said mildly. “And pass me a sandwich.” 

Harry glanced to his right and realised that Kreacher had placed a large platter of sandwiches at his elbow. “Oh. Here.” 

Draco took the sandwich and took a bite as he began writing. He decided just to write to Pansy and ask her to get in touch with Blaise. He wasn’t sure at all how either of them would take it, but the way things had progressed since last night, he didn’t see that he had much choice.

_My dear Pansy,  
I don’t know if you’ve seen The Prophet today. If, by some chance, you haven’t, please don’t go and get a copy yet. I need to talk to you (and Blaise). Please get him and Apparate to 12 Grimmauld Place at six o’clock. The wards will admit you.  
Draco_

Draco felt Harry watching as he finished the letter and put it into an envelope with Pansy’s name on it. He then gave a low whistle, smiling slightly when Harry blinked as the eagle owl swept in from the hall to land gracefully on the table.

Draco smiled and stroked the bird’s feathers gently. “Ulysses, please take this to Pansy as quickly as possible. Make sure she reads it.” He tied the letter to the owl’s leg and then opened the window to allow him to fly away. 

“What did you say to her?” Harry asked as the owl disappeared from view. He took another sandwich from the platter. 

“I asked her to get Blaise and Apparate here at six o’clock,” Draco said, helping himself to another sandwich too. “I thought if they came early, we could tell them what’s going on before dinner. Then, if they take it badly, we can kick them out.” 

Harry paused, his sandwich halfway to his mouth. “Kick them out?” 

Draco nodded. “Trust me, if they take it badly, you won’t want them here when Weasley and Granger get here,” he said. “I don’t think they _will_ take it badly though, once they see we’re not joking about this.” 

“Well, I hope not,” Harry said, taking another bite. “This is definitely _not_ a joke. Though, I have to admit, it’s been quite nice talking to you like a proper person. Not just arguing with you.” 

Draco swallowed and looked at Harry for a moment. “It hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be,” he admitted. “I know we’ve argued a bit, but I genuinely thought that we wouldn’t even speak once I got here. I didn’t know what we’d have to say to each other.”

Harry shrugged. “I’m sure you’ve found this out, but it’s not in my nature to sit quietly,” he said with a small smile. “I’d have found it incredibly awkward to have you here and not talk to you.” 

Draco couldn’t help but smile too, looking down briefly. “Well, now you mention it, I do remember you making your mouth go a lot at school. Got you in trouble most of the time too.” 

“Only with Snape,” Harry said with a grin. “And it was usually your fault.” 

Draco shrugged, still smiling. “Me? Never,” he said. “Anyway, should we go and finish that office? Then at least we’ll have somewhere to work from tomorrow.”

Harry nodded. “Yeah, good idea,” he said. “Listen, I know you don’t want to talk about it, but… if we can’t get the magic reversed, and we’re stuck together forever, I’d be okay with you putting a lab in the house.” 

Draco looked at Harry, startled, before shaking his head slightly. “You think too much,” he said. He stood up quickly, hoping that Harry couldn’t tell that he was touched by the offer. 

Harry stood up too, following Draco out of the room and back to the office. There wasn’t much left to do since they’d done the bulk of the work that morning, but they needed to get rid of any of the furniture that was left if they weren’t going to use it. “What else do you need for an office?” 

“Some storage would be good,” Draco replied. “I have a lot of research that I’ve been doing, so I’d like to get that brought here.” 

Harry nodded. “That should be easy enough,” he said. “We can use a couple of those display cabinets to make some filing cabinets and drawers.” 

Draco nodded too. “That’s what I thought,” he said, taking his wand out again.


	6. Chapter Six

They spent the next couple of hours transfiguring the remaining cabinets into storage cupboards and drawers, before Harry heard the clock in the living room chiming half past five. “Is it that time already?” he said, standing up and stretching. “I don’t know about you, but I need the loo.” 

“Well, now that you mention it,” Draco replied, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “I could do with it myself. Lead the way.” 

Harry snorted softly as he headed out of the room. Draco’s footsteps behind him once would have made him nervous. Now, he realised, he found them comforting even after such a short time together. Climbing the stairs, Harry made his way to the bathroom knowing that Draco would have to wait outside and be able to hear everything that was happening inside. 

Shutting the door behind him, Harry stepped up to the toilet before he felt his arm begin tingling. “Oh, for… Malfoy?”

“Yeah… mine too,” Draco called back through the door, correctly interpreting what Harry’s question was going to be. 

Harry groaned and finished up as quickly as he could, before washing his hands. His arm was now hurting rather than just tingling. Opening the bathroom door once more, he found himself face to face with Draco, whose face was contorted in pain. 

“Thank Merlin,” Draco muttered. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you need to come back in there with me.” 

“What? No, I—” Harry protested, shaking his head. 

“Potter, my arm went from being fine to burning in two seconds,” Draco said. “Don’t tell me yours didn’t do the same. You’re coming back in. You can stand in the shower and face the wall for all I care, but we clearly need to be in the same room to avoid the ridiculous pain this magic is causing!” 

“Alright, alright,” Harry muttered, feeling his cheeks turn bright red as he followed Draco back into the bathroom. “Cast a _Muffliato_ so I don’t have to listen.” 

Draco tutted, but cast the spell anyway as Harry stepped into the shower cubicle and faced the wall, his arms folded across his chest. He wasn’t sure why he felt so weird about being in the same bathroom as Draco, it wasn’t really any different from being in the school toilets at Hogwarts, or the men’s toilets at work, but somehow it _felt_ different. 

After a few moments of silence, Harry suddenly heard the toilet flush and realised that Draco must have cancelled the spell. “All done?” 

Draco nodded as he washed his hands. “Yes… I dread to think how close we’re going to have to be by this time tomorrow,” he said. “This magic… it’s not messing around.” 

“I know,” Harry said, rubbing at his arm slightly. “We forgot to owl Flitwick,” he added. “If we go downstairs now, I’ll do that while we wait for Pansy and Blaise to arrive.” 

Draco nodded again. “It’s probably best that you ask him, I suppose,” he said. “I don’t know that he’d want to do me any favours if you weren’t involved.” 

Harry shook his head, opening the bathroom door again. “You don’t know that,” he said. “You always did well enough in Charms. I doubt he’d hold anything against you.” 

Draco shrugged, following Harry out of the room. “Even so, you can write to him.” 

“I’ll have to use your owl to send it though,” Harry said. “I don’t have an owl anymore.” 

“That’s alright,” Draco replied, shrugging again. “Ulysses won’t mind. He could do with a good stretch of his wings. Pansy doesn’t live that far from here.” 

“If you’re sure,” Harry said. “Did you tell Pansy that this is my house, by the way?”

“Er, no,” Draco said, looking slightly sheepish. “I thought we’d surprise her with that.” 

Harry groaned. “She’d better not try to hex me in my own home,” he said warningly. “Or if she does, you’d better be prepared to take the hit!” 

“I assure you she won’t hex you,” Draco said as they reached the kitchen. “And neither will Blaise. It’s not their style.” 

“Mmm, well, we’ll see,” Harry said, picking up the quill that was still sitting on the table and beginning to write to Professor Flitwick.

_Dear Professor Flitwick,  
I hope this letter finds you well. I am in a bit of a predicament, along with Draco Malfoy, and we were wondering if you would be able to meet with us to discuss something._

_For confidentiality reasons, we would rather not come to Hogwarts or even Hogsmeade (if you’ve seen today’s Prophet, you’ll understand why), so if you would be prepared to come to Grimmauld Place, we would be extremely grateful._

_Please send your reply with Ulysses. He’ll wait._

_Warm regards,  
Harry Potter_

Draco leant over Harry’s shoulder to read the letter. “‘Warm regards’?”

“Well how would you end it?” Harry asked, leaning away slightly so that he could look at Draco. 

“...‘Warm regards’ is fine,” Draco said after a moment, unable to think of anything better. “Tea?” 

Harry looked up in surprise. “You’re going to make some tea? I thought you preferred coffee?”

“I do,” Draco replied. “But tea is good for sharing. And I asked Kreacher to get some decent tea bags.” 

Harry shook his head with an amused smile. “Go on then,” he said. “I don’t suppose it would do any harm to have a pot of tea ready for when your friends get here.” 

“Exactly. Pansy loves a cup of Darjeeling,” Draco said, pulling out tea bags and the teapot. “Is that okay for you?” 

“I’ve never had it,” Harry replied, honestly. “I’m sure it’ll be fine though.” 

Draco filled the kettle with cold water from the tap over the sink and set it on the hob to boil. 

Harry watched curiously as Draco bustled about the kitchen, selecting teacups. “I didn’t know you knew how to make tea,” he said without thinking. 

Draco paused and looked at him. “I might not have taken Divination, but I did learn something about making tea at school,” he said. “Don’t ask where.” 

Harry blinked, suddenly even more curious. “Alright, I won’t… for now, anyway,” he said. “Can you call Ulysses?” 

Draco gave the same, low, whistle he’d used earlier to call the owl, smiling as the bird swooped in and landed in front of him. “Not me this time,” he said, stroking the owl fondly. “Over there.” 

Harry watched as the eagle owl slowly turned its head and looked at him before hopping across the table and holding out his leg. Smiling, Harry tied the letter carefully to Ulysses’ leg. “Take this to Professor Flitwick at Hogwarts School please,” he said. “And please wait for a reply.” 

Ulysses ruffled his feathers and then nipped Harry’s finger before spreading his wings and sweeping out of the open kitchen window. 

“He nipped me!” Harry yelped, sucking his finger into his mouth to soothe the sore spot. 

Draco chuckled. “He does that with new people,” he said. “He’ll be alright next time.” 

“Hm, we’ll see about that,” Harry muttered, not convinced. 

At that moment, the kettle began to boil and Draco lifted it off the hob to leave it to cool for a couple of minutes. Once he was sure it had cooled sufficiently, he poured the water into the teapot and then placed the lid on top. 

Harry moved to pick the teapot up, but was stopped by Draco slapping his hand away. “Ow! What was that for?” 

“You can’t pour tea out straight away!” Draco exclaimed. “It needs to brew for a few minutes first!” 

“Merlin, you’re a stickler for rules!” Harry grumbled, rubbing the back of his hand. “You’re almost as bad as Hermione!” 

“Rules are there for a reason, Potter,” Draco replied, shrugging. “And tea making rules are important. I may be more of a coffee drinker, but a well made cup of tea is hard to beat.” 

Harry looked at him suspiciously, wondering when the Pureblood customs included tea making. 

Draco then lifted the lid off the teapot and removed the tea bags, depositing them into the bin. Replacing the lid, he picked the teapot up and poured two cups before adding milk. He pushed one across the table to Harry. “There you go,” he said. 

“Thanks,” Harry said, lifting the cup to his mouth and taking a sip. “Oh… that’s nice!” 

Draco smiled smugly. “I told you it was good.” 

“Yeah, yeah, what—” Harry broke off as the Floo chimed. He looked at Draco whose face had become paler than usual. 

Standing up, Harry moved to stand next to Draco. The further away from the Floo he was, the safer he felt he would be. They both watched as Pansy stepped delicately out of the fireplace, followed by Blaise. 

Brushing soot from her skirt, Pansy looked around the kitchen, a scowl on her face until her gaze landed on Draco and Harry. “Draco, darling… what in the name of Merlin is going on here?” she asked in measured tones. Her gaze didn’t leave Harry, who sipped at his tea nervously. 

“Pansy,” Draco said, a smile forming on his face as he moved to greet her. “Would you like a cup of tea? It’s Darjeeling, your favourite.” 

Pansy hesitated before nodding. “Yes, please, and an explanation. Why is Potter here?” 

“Are you being held hostage, Draco?” Blaise spoke up. 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Blaise,” Draco snorted. “Tea?” 

Blaise nodded, eyeing Harry suspiciously. 

Harry didn’t move from his place by the sink, waiting for Draco to pour his friends their tea.

“Please, sit down,” Draco said, gesturing to the table as he took a seat himself. 

Harry took this as his cue to sit beside him. He still felt safer if Draco was close by. He was sure that Pansy wouldn’t attempt anything if he was so near. 

Pansy watched Harry, a look of mild horror on her face, as though she wanted to protest at his choice of seat. However, she didn’t say anything, simply sat down opposite Draco. 

Blaise sat beside Pansy, also watching Harry with fascination. 

“What is going on?” Pansy demanded, tapping one nail against the side of her teacup. 

Draco glanced at Harry and took a breath. “Potter and I… we’ve… got ourselves into a… predicament,” he said slowly, trying to think of the best way to word the explanation.

“A predicament,” Pansy repeated slowly. “Draco… what kind of predicament? And what did you mean about The Prophet?” 

Harry sighed and stood up to grab the copy of the paper that Hermione had brought with her. He placed it on the table in front of Pansy and Blaise. 

Draco bit his lip, watching for his friends’ reaction.

Pansy’s eyes narrowed as she saw the picture first, then widened as she read the article. “You two… went for dinner at Au Troll Endormi?” she asked, fixing Draco with a glare. “ _Without_ me?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Pansy. We weren’t there on a date, despite what the article says,” he said. 

“What about the photograph?” Blaise asked, raising his gaze to look at Draco steadily. 

“It’s not what it looks like,” Draco said with a sigh. “Honestly.” 

“He’s telling the truth,” Harry said. “He pointed his fork at me, that’s all. I must have leant forward at the same time, but I definitely didn’t eat anything off his fork.” 

“That doesn’t explain why you two were even out together,” Pansy said, narrowing her eyes at Harry. 

Harry looked at Draco. “We need to tell them.”

Pansy looked between them, frowning. “Tell us what, Draco?”

Draco sighed. “Pansy, Potter and I are betrothed,” he said finally. 

Pansy gasped, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. Blaise coughed, choking on the mouthful of tea he’d just taken.

Harry quickly lifted his own teacup to hide the amused smile that had appeared on his face. 

Draco elbowed Harry before handing some paper towel to Blaise. 

“Why didn’t you _tell_ me you’d been seeing Potter?” Pansy shrieked. “You—”

“Because I haven’t been,” Draco said, cutting her off quickly. “Not until yesterday when I bumped into him at St. Mungo’s.” 

“Strange place to ask someone out,” Blaise commented, taking another, more dignified sip of his tea. 

“No-one asked anyone out,” Draco replied in exasperation. 

“You asked me to go to dinner with you,” Harry said, unable to help himself. 

“Potter!” Draco gasped, glaring at him. 

Harry looked back innocently. 

“Draco! What is going on?!” Pansy demanded again. “If you say you’re not going out with him, why are you betrothed?” 

“To cut a long story short,” Draco said finally. “My grandparents had a pair of candlesticks. These candlesticks had a charm put on them - a Pureblood bonding magic charm.” 

Pansy’s eyes widened again as she turned to look at Blaise, her jaw dropping. 

Draco nodded as Pansy grasped what he meant. “Exactly. Now, you know what my grandparents were like. We have been unable to be apart since last night,” he said. “At first it wasn’t too bad, but now, if we’re in different rooms we end up in great pain.” 

Pansy shook her head. “I don’t believe you,” she said. “That magic hasn’t been used in years.” 

Draco glanced at Harry. “The candlesticks were hidden away,” he said. “Potter picked one up here and I picked one up in the Manor.” 

“Why were they separated?” Pansy asked at once. “Candlesticks come in pairs. They’re not kept separately.” 

Blaise, who had been looking between them, nodded as Pansy spoke. 

Harry sighed. “That was Kreacher’s fault,” he said. “My House Elf. Before the war, he was told to get out of a room by my godfather, but he took it literally and went to Malfoy Manor. I don’t know how many times he did it, but apparently he took things with him, including one of these candlesticks.”

Draco nodded in agreement with Harry’s explanation. “He hid one of the candlesticks in a cupboard in the Manor. Mother asked me to help her look for a brooch, and I ended up picking up the candlestick.” 

“I still don’t understand how this magic has activated,” Pansy said, frowning. “I know how bonding magic works, you need to be attracted to the other person for it to take effect.” 

Draco shook his head. “The Healer we spoke to at St. Mungo’s said that some spells were simply activated by touch, no mention of attraction.” 

Pansy frowned again. “So… you’re just taking this lying down?” she asked. “You’re going to marry Potter without even fighting it?” 

Blaise turned to look at Draco, an unreadable expression on his face as he listened to the explanation.

Draco tutted. “Of course not. We’ve got an appointment with the Curse Breakers on Thursday,” he said. “But until then, we’re living together. The pain is unbearable, neither of us would be able to cope if we lived apart.” 

“Surely it can’t be that bad?” Pansy asked sceptically. “How far apart can you be?” 

“We’re not exactly sure,” Harry said. “The magic is doing some weird things. Last night we were fine in separate rooms. This morning, we found out we could be on either side of a door, but no further apart. This afternoon… well, we can no longer be in separate rooms.” 

Pansy shuddered slightly. “I don’t want to know how you found that out,” she said. “So, neither of you can leave this room right now?” 

Draco and Harry shook their heads. “No, not without being in ridiculous amounts of pain,” Draco replied. 

“Can you show us?” Blaise asked, surprising them all. 

“Er…” Harry began, looking at Draco uncertainly. 

“I’ll go,” Draco said, standing up. “I won’t go far though.” 

Harry nodded, taking a deep breath and preparing for the tingling to start. 

Draco made his way to the door, opening it. He took a step into the hall, immediately feeling the tingling start in his arm. He took another step forward, grimacing as the tingling became a sharp pain. He continued walking until he reached the foot of the stairs, by which point he was clutching at his arm as the pain increased. He could feel himself beginning to sweat. 

“Come back!” Harry called from the kitchen, his voice conveying the pain he was obviously in. 

Draco practically ran back to the kitchen, his forehead slick with sweat. He looked at Harry with relief as the burning pain subsided as soon as he was over the threshold. 

Pansy watched the two of them with wide eyes. “You weren’t joking,” she said, in a hushed voice.

Draco shook his head, wiping his forehead. “No. We weren’t,” he said. “I went to the foot of the stairs and if Potter hadn’t shouted me back, I’d have come back myself. The pain is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.” 

Harry nodded, rubbing at his arm again. “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone,” he said. 

“What are you going to do if the Curse Breakers can’t help you?” Blaise asked, sipping at his tea again. 

“We haven’t thought about it yet,” Draco said. “We will, just… not yet.” 

“Draco, you can’t pretend this might not be permanent,” Pansy said carefully. “This magic shouldn’t be messed with.” 

“I _know_ ,” Draco insisted. “And we won’t be messing with it. Neither of us wants to die.” 

“Is that where this will lead if you don’t get married?” Pansy asked seriously. 

Draco nodded. “I think so,” he said. “No-one knows for sure, but I don’t think I’d put it past them to have included that as a consequence.” 

“And you two would be prepared to get married to save yourselves?” Pansy said, doubtfully. 

Draco nodded again. “Yes. Because we’re not crazy.” 

Pansy raised her eyebrow. “Some would disagree,” she muttered. “What does your mother think about this?” 

“She was surprisingly alright about it,” Draco said. “By which I mean she couldn’t have cared less when I told her, she would rather remind me that I am rather lacking on the relationship front.”

A snort from Blaise made them all jump. 

“Something to say, Blaise?” Draco asked, with a sniff. 

“Well, you can’t say she’s wrong, can you?” Blaise asked, folding his arms on the table in front of him. “When was the last time you _had_ a relationship?”

Watching as Draco’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, Harry took pity on him. “We’re not here to discuss that,” he said firmly. “We just wanted to make you both aware of the situation since The Prophet has no problem printing lies.” 

Draco gave Harry a grateful look. It was no secret that he’d been a bachelor for the majority of the time since he’d left Hogwarts, but he maintained the line that it had been because he was concentrating on his work and didn’t have time for a relationship. “Thank you, Potter,” he said, stiffly. “He’s right, I hadn’t wanted to tell you about this since we’re hoping to get the magic reversed on Thursday, but with this little revelation, I thought I’d better,” he added, prodding at the photo version of himself. 

“Have you forgotten what I do for a living?” Blaise asked with a sigh as he fixed Draco with a stare. 

Draco looked back at him with confusion. “I’ve not lost my mind,” he said. “You work in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.” 

“Exactly. I have _some_ experience with magic like this,” Blaise said, speaking slowly as though Draco really _had_ lost his mind. “Including people who have been bonded against their will.” 

Harry and Draco looked at each other with wide eyes, before looking back at Blaise. 

“And you didn’t think to remind me of this before?” Draco asked, fighting the urge to slap a hand to his forehead. “Blaise, I’ve hardly been thinking straight. It just… slipped my mind.” 

Blaise shrugged. “I wanted to know what you were going to say,” he said. “Now I’m sure that neither of you have done this on purpose, I might be able to help.” 

Draco rolled his eyes. “Why would we do this on purpose?” he asked. “Do we _look_ thrilled about this?” 

“Well, you don’t look _angry_ about it…” Pansy pointed out. “In fact, anyone coming in here would be forgiven for thinking you _are_ in a relationship.” 

Draco sighed. “We’re just trying to make things easier,” he said. “I don’t particularly want to fight every minute of the day.” 

“Neither do I,” Harry added. “We did enough of that at school. I like to think I’ve got past it.” 

“It certainly looks like you’ve both put it behind you,” Blaise said. “But unless you want to be married, you need to hope for some kind of miracle on Thursday.” 

“What’s your experience of this kind of magic?” Harry asked, twisting his hands together where they lay on the table. 

“That if it’s not properly observed, it can be disastrous,” Blaise said, a slight sigh evident in his voice. “Luckily for you two, neither of you is stupid and moving in together is likely to help observe the rules of the bonding spell.” 

“Well we’d worked that much out for ourselves,” Draco said, dryly. “What else?” 

“I’ve never heard of the permitted distance decreasing with time,” Blaise admitted. “But I daresay that if you give me some time, I can look it up and see if there’s any record of it happening before. I will say though, that the bonds I usually see have much more… violent terms.” 

“Do we even want to know?” Harry asked, looking slightly pained as Pansy made a face. 

Blaise shook his head. “Probably not,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to apply in this case, you’ll be pleased to hear. What else are you doing to minimise the pain level?” 

“Not a lot,” Draco said, shrugging. “We don’t know enough about it to know what we can and can’t do. We’re just adjusting when we need to.” 

“Well, normally, the magic requires contact to form the bond,” Blaise said. “And normally after time, the need to have contact lessens, enabling the people involved to have normal lives. But from what you’re saying, this magic is working differently. I think that it’s likely that the distance you can be apart will keep decreasing until you’re in physical contact with one another.”

Pansy chewed her lip slightly, but stayed quiet as Blaise spoke.

Draco swallowed and looked at Harry, who was looking back at him with a worried expression. “So…” 

“So, the sooner you can get the magic reversed, the better,” Blaise said. “Bonding magic can be very inconvenient. It will affect your day to day life while the bond is being established. Neither of you will be able to go to work - well, I suppose _that_ depends on what you’re doing, Draco. If you’ve got a lab in here somewhere, you will probably be able to work if you can do so with Potter attached to you in some way. But Potter won’t be able to go to work.” 

Harry frowned. “So, you’re telling me that if we _can’t_ get the magic reversed, I’m going to have to work from home - on paperwork - until the bond is established?” 

Blaise nodded. “I’m afraid so, Potter,” he said. “But, depending on how quickly the magic is working, that might happen before Thursday. It certainly seems to be moving quickly.” 

“Blaise, is there nothing you can do to help them?” Pansy asked, a concerned expression crossing her face. 

Blaise shook his head. “I have experience of the magic, but not of removing or reversing it,” he said, apologetically. “It’s far more complicated than you realise.” 

“We’ve owled Professor Flitwick,” Harry said. “We thought he might be able to help. Or… at least offer us some advice.” 

Blaise nodded. “I think that’s a wise idea,” he said. “He might not be able to remove the magic for you, but I would think that he’ll know something about it.” 

“We hope so,” Draco said, looking more worried than he had done previously. “We might have got past our problems from school, but we’re not… I mean…” 

“What he’s trying to say is, we’re on our way to possibly being friends, but that’s about it,” Harry said, rolling his eyes slightly. 

Draco nodded in agreement. He was sure that he and Harry were, indeed, on their way to being friends but he wasn’t sure that they were ready to be married to one another. 

“Well, hopefully Professor Flitwick and the Curse Breakers will be able to help you,” Blaise said, sitting back. “If not, then I hope you’ll be inviting us to the wedding.” 

Draco threw the nearest tea towel at Blaise while Pansy snorted. 

“Trust me,” Draco said. “There won’t be a wedding. Not like you’re imagining.” 

Harry shook his head. “No. If we have to get married, we’ll get married but it will hardly be a celebration.” 

Pansy disguised another snort as a cough. “Well,” she said. “As much of a shock as this has been, Draco, I think you could do a lot worse than marry the Saviour of the Wizarding World.” 

Both Harry and Draco groaned. “Don’t you start!” Draco exclaimed. “I will throw you out of here, Pansy Parkinson.” 

“Oh, please,” Pansy said, tutting. “You wouldn’t dare. Not when you’ve invited us for dinner.” 

“Well, no, I wouldn’t,” Draco admitted. “Not since Kreacher has been preparing the food for the last half an hour. Speaking of which, Potter, what time are Weasley and Granger due?” 

“Any time now,” Harry replied, glancing at the clock and ignoring Pansy’s choking cough as she’d taken another sip of her tea. 

“We’re having dinner with _them_?” she spluttered, turning to Draco with an expression of horror. 

“Yes,” Draco said firmly. “Granger has been a great help while we’re… incapacitated, and Weasley… well, he’s just made fun of us, but that’s not the point.” 

“Blaise, what do you think of this?” Pansy asked, turning to Blaise. 

Blaise shrugged. “Pansy, I am past the Gryffindor/Slytherin war from school,” he said. “I have done business with Granger on several occasions and find her to be most efficient.” 

Harry glanced at Draco, wondering if Blaise thought that being efficient was an important quality. 

Pansy stared at Blaise for a moment before heaving a sigh. “Oh, alright,” she said. “I’ll be nice.” 

Draco smiled. “Good. I think you and Granger would actually get on quite well,” he said. 

Harry nodded. “Hermione has quite a wicked side,” he said. “Ron and I were always wary of getting on her wrong side. Well, I was. Ron didn’t usually realise he’d said anything wrong.” 

Pansy snorted again. “Well that I can believe.”

“How _did_ those two end up together?” Draco asked, turning to Harry curiously. “I always thought you would end up with her.” 

Harry made a face. “Really?” he asked. “No, that would be… if I had a sister, it’d be like going out with her. No way. There was always a bit more between them. The constant bickering was a dead giveaway.” 

“If constant bickering means you’re meant for each other, then you two have no chance against this magic,” Pansy pointed out, looking between Harry and Draco. “You’ve done more than your fair share of bickering.” 

“Pansy!” Draco exclaimed, looking scandalised. “Don’t try and upset us like that!” 

Harry couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Draco’s face. “What he said.” 

Blaise shook his head, trying not to look amused. “You know, for all your protesting, you two are very well suited,” he said. 

As Harry and Draco both opened their mouths to respond, the Floo chimed and Ron and Hermione stepped through into the kitchen. 

Ron looked at Pansy and Blaise warily, but held his hand out to Blaise, who shook it firmly. 

“Hello Pansy, Blaise,” Hermione said, politely. “It’s nice to see you again.” 

“Hello,” Pansy replied, her voice slightly stiff. “I hear you’ve been a big help to these two idiots?”

Hermione frowned at the name, but nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Well, I’ve tried to be, anyway.” 

“You’ve been great, Hermione,” Harry said, trying to reassure her. “We appreciate everything you’ve done so far.” 

“What about me?” Ron asked, putting his hands on his hips. 

“You laughed at my pyjamas,” Draco said, raising an eyebrow. “ _That_ is not helping.”

“Were they the ones with the little owls on them?” Blaise asked, looking at Ron. 

“Yes, you know them?” Ron replied, looking delighted. 

“He used to wear them at school,” Blaise nodded. “Very cute.” 

Draco, who had turned very red, groaned and looked at Harry for help. “Please control your weasel!” 

Harry hid his smile. “Give it a rest, Ron,” he said. “They’re just pyjamas. You’ve got some with hippogriffs on them.” 

Draco gave a sudden laugh, looking ecstatic at this news. 

“Oh, cheers, mate!” Ron moaned, covering his face with his hands. “I thought you were my friend?!” 

Pansy looked at them for a moment before turning to Hermione. “Have you been putting up with this on your own?” 

Hermione suppressed a sigh and nodded. “Yes, I have,” she said. 

“You deserve a medal,” Pansy said. “I’ve only been witness to five minutes of this and I already want to slap them all.” 

Hermione couldn’t help but laugh. “Finally, someone who understands what I have to put up with.” 

“Indeed,” Pansy said, patting the bench next to her for Hermione to sit down. “I think you and I could be great friends, Granger.” 

Hermione smiled and sat next to Pansy, nodding. “I think you could be right.” 

Harry, Ron and Draco all looked at each other in horror.

“What have you done?” Ron asked. “Encouraging these two to be friends?”

Before either Harry or Draco could answer, Kreacher appeared with a pop. “Dinner is ready, sirs,” he said, bowing to Harry and Draco.

“Great, thanks, Kreacher,” Harry said. “We’re ready to eat now.” 

The chatter died down as Kreacher served their food and they began to eat.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to [potter_loves_malfoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potter_loves_malfoy/pseuds/potter_loves_malfoy) for the quick beta on this chapter ❤️

A couple of hours passed and Draco and Harry were alone again in the house, aside from Kreacher. 

“Well, that went better than I expected,” Harry said as he and Draco made their way into the living room. 

“Yes,” Draco replied, following Harry. “I’m glad we’ve all moved on.” 

“It was bound to happen eventually.” Harry sighed, flopping into his armchair.

“Well, maybe,” Draco said, sitting down at one end of the sofa. “We’ll never know now, will we?” 

“No, I—” Harry broke off as his arm began to tingle and he looked up at Draco. 

“You’re going to have to come over here,” Draco said, making a face as his arm also began to tingle. “We can’t both fit in that chair.” 

Harry made a small noise of frustration, but stood up and moved to sit beside Draco on the sofa. “I hate sitting on this,” he said with a sigh. “It’s just not as cosy as my chair.” 

“Well, there’s not much I can do about that,” Draco said, looking relieved as the tingling stopped. “Unless you want to resize your chair.”

“We might have to do that,” Harry said, looking at the chair sorrowfully. “It just needs to be a bit bigger, not as big as this.” 

“We don’t need to be touching do we?” Draco asked, looking at the small gap between himself and Harry. 

“Not yet,” Harry said. “But I bet by this time tomorrow we’ll need to be.” 

Draco groaned softly. “You realise this means we’re going to need to sleep in the same room tonight?” 

Harry nodded, biting his lip. “I know,” he said. “We’ve both got double beds at least. One side each.” 

“Your room or mine?” Draco asked.

“I don’t mind,” Harry said with a shrug. “Which would you prefer?” 

“Well, I quite like my room,” Draco said. “But you weren’t keen for me to see yours.”

“That was nothing personal,” Harry said, quickly. “I don’t even know why I was weird about it. We can sleep in there if you want.” 

Draco shrugged. “I honestly don’t mind,” he said. “I’ll just go with whatever you want to do.”

“Should we go with mine then?” Harry asked. 

Draco nodded again. “Yeah, alright,” he said. “We can always sleep in mine tomorrow.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Harry said before pausing. “Well, you know what I mean.” 

“I do,” Draco agreed. “It’s making the most of a bad situation.” 

“Exactly. And hopefully tomorrow we’ll have a reply from Professor Flitwick,” Harry said, sighing slightly. 

“Let’s hope so,” Draco said with a sigh of his own. “Even if he can’t take the magic off, he must surely know something about it to make this easier.” 

“That reminds me,” Harry said, turning his head to look at Draco. “You know I said about putting a lab in here? I was thinking about it and think the third floor would be perfect.”

“Really?” Draco asked. “You’d be prepared to sacrifice a whole floor?” 

Harry nodded. “If it comes to it, yes. You’ll need to work, so if you need a lab, we can put one in. I’ll be able to do my work at a desk in the corner, providing that’s close enough for the magic.” 

Draco groaned slightly but nodded. “That makes sense, I suppose,” he said. “The office is fine for now, but if we can’t get the magic removed, I’ll need somewhere to set my potions up so I can continue my work.” 

“That’s what I was thinking,” Harry said. “The third floor has plenty of space for a lab, so it makes sense and then, Merlin forbid, if we end up married, you’ll still have somewhere to work.” 

Draco fell silent for a moment. “Thank you,” he said, quietly. “I do appreciate it.”

Harry nodded and then shrugged. “It’s no trouble. Well, it probably will be, but you know what I mean.” 

Draco nodded again. “I can’t believe we’ve only been stuck like this for a day,” he said with a sigh. “It feels… I mean, I don’t know how to explain it, but it… your company isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he finished, finally settling on an explanation. 

Harry gave a half-smile. “Yours isn’t too bad either,” he said. “I really wasn’t happy when we first found out, but I think we’re managing alright, aren’t we?” 

“We don’t have much choice, really,” Draco said. “But yes. I think we’re managing much better than some people would.” 

“Do you think Blaise will find anything out about the decreasing distance?” Harry asked, shifting slightly as he turned to face Draco. 

“I’d be more surprised if he didn’t,” Draco answered. “He’s very good at his job, so if anyone was likely to have heard of it, it’s him. The fact he hasn’t should probably worry us.” 

“Do you think we’re the first people this has happened to?” Harry wondered aloud, his eyes searching the side of Draco’s head as he waited for a response. 

“We can’t be,” Draco said. “There must have been others before us. We’re probably the first ones who’ve been betrothed without even knowing it though.” 

Harry groaned softly. “That wouldn’t surprise me. It would be just typical.” 

“You _do_ seem to have a penchant for attracting trouble,” Draco said, smirking slightly. 

“I can’t even explain it,” Harry sighed. “It’s just always been how my life is. I never wanted half of the trouble I got. And now look, I’m sitting here with you, days from us having to be married.” 

Draco snorted. “You could do worse than marry me,” he said. “Although, marrying me won’t do your reputation any good.” 

Harry shrugged. “I don’t care about that,” he said. “I told you that before. People will think what they want regardless of what I say or do, so I just ignore them.” 

“I wish I had your ability to not give a shit about what people say,” Draco sighed. “I’m fed up of having to justify my work, or my behaviour since the end of the war.” 

“You don’t have to justify anything,” Harry frowned. “You’ve been cleared of war crimes after you turned your back on Voldemort - sorry - and you’re making amends.” 

“You have no idea what it’s been like for me,” Draco said, his voice suddenly hard. “You had a nice, cushy Aurors job handed to you on a plate. I tried to get a job, no-one would give me the time of day. Other than the place I trained in France, anyway. That’s why I ended up there.” 

“I didn’t ask for that job,” Harry said, still frowning. “I couldn’t help it if they asked me to join up. It was… I’d made my mind up in fifth year that I wanted to be an Auror, I couldn’t turn it down.” 

Draco stared at Harry for a moment before sighing again. “I know,” he said. “I would have done the same if I were in your shoes. I’m just… I grew up believing I was privileged. That I was going to be something special when I left school. Instead, I ended up being scared for my life for a long time and unable to get a job because of a choice my father made for me. It was… a bit of a shock.” 

“I can’t imagine what it was like for you,” Harry admitted. “I knew there was something going on with you in sixth year, but I never really stopped to think about how you really felt about it.” 

“No-one did,” Draco muttered. “Maybe Mother, but she couldn’t overrule Father, though she tried. Neither of them really had a choice, he said he’d kill me and then them if I didn’t do what he asked. I didn’t want any of it.” 

“I know,” Harry said softly. “I should have tried to talk to you at school rather than following you all over the place. Maybe I could have helped you.” 

Draco gave a humourless chuckle. “I wouldn’t have accepted your help, not after you nearly killed me,” he admitted. “I’m over that now, by the way.” 

“Yeah… sorry about that,” Harry said, flushing. “I shouldn’t have used that spell. I regretted it straight away.”

Draco shook his head and waved a hand, dismissing Harry’s apology. “I told you, I’m over that now. We can’t stay angry at each other forever. Not if we end up married.” 

Harry groaned again. “Is it me, or are we both getting used to the idea of us being married?” 

“It’s not just you,” Draco said softly. “I can’t help but think it would just… be easier to get on with it.” 

Harry chuckled. “Well, we’re going to have to take the next step tonight anyway,” he said. “Seeing as we’re going to have to sleep in the same bed. I should warn you, I’m a cuddler.”

“I am not shocked to hear that,” Draco said after a moment. “I thought you would be. I don’t mind cuddling, although I don’t really think we’ll be doing any of that.”

“Well, no,” Harry said. “I’m not planning on it, but I’m just warning you because I can’t be held to blame if I cuddle you in my sleep.” 

“Your warning is duly noted,” Draco nodded. “I promise I won’t hold it against you.” 

“Good,” Harry said, looking pleased. “Should we, er, should we go up now then?” 

“Are you tired?” 

Harry nodded. “A bit. All that work earlier and then having people over for dinner, it’s been a bit of an exhausting day.” 

“Let’s go then,” Draco said, standing up. “Hopefully we’ll have a reply from Professor Flitwick when we wake up.” 

Harry nodded again, standing up too. “Let’s hope so.” 

Draco moved away from the sofa slightly, waiting for Harry to follow. Although they’d worked out that they couldn’t sit too far apart now, he wasn’t sure how the magic would behave while they were walking around. 

“Don’t go too fast!” Harry exclaimed as Draco reached the door and they both felt a tingling in their arms. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Draco winced, stepping backwards and waiting for Harry to reach his side again. 

“This is very inconvenient,” Harry grumbled. “How are we meant to do anything properly if we have to be practically stuck together at the hip?” 

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake,” Draco sighed. “Come here.” He reached out and grabbed Harry’s hand. “We’ll have to do it this way. It’ll be happy then.” 

Harry made a noise of surprise, but gripped onto Draco’s hand anyway. “I’m not holding your hand while you go to the toilet, by the way.” 

“You’ll have to hold onto me somewhere,” Draco retorted, without thinking. 

“Er…” Harry began. 

“Not _there_ ,” Draco said quickly, flushing crimson. “I mean you’ll have to stand with your hand on my shoulder or something. Then you can look away. And I’ll do the same for you.” 

“Okay. Good. I can do that,” Harry nodded as they reached the top of the stairs. “I’m guessing you need the loo before we actually go to bed?”

“I do,” Draco said. “Sorry.” 

Harry sighed. “It’s alright, I need it too,” he said. “Go on then, you go first.” 

They made their way to the bathroom and proceeded, awkwardly, to use the toilet. Neither Harry nor Draco made eye contact with the other as they left the bathroom. They were both of the opinion that they probably wouldn’t get used to that particular part of the problem. 

“I need to get my pyjamas from my room,” Draco said. “And my book.” 

“Alright,” Harry said, nodding as they made their way to Draco’s room. “Are you still reading The BFG?”

“Yes. I didn’t quite get it finished last night,” Draco answered as he picked the book up from the bedside table. He then grabbed his pyjama bottoms from the bed and looked at Harry. “Let’s go.”

Harry turned and headed for his own room, Draco following behind him. He was sure that his pulse was quicker than normal with the thought that he and Draco were going to be sharing a bed for the night. He’d known that there was a possibility of it coming to this, he just hadn’t expected it to be so quick. 

When they were inside Harry’s room, they both stared at the bed for a few moments. 

“Can we be on opposite sides of the bed, do you think?” Draco asked, looking at Harry uncertainly. 

“Well, I imagine we can sleep on opposite sides,” Harry said thoughtfully. “But, maybe we just get changed here and then get in?” 

“I suppose that works too,” Draco said, eyeing the bed sceptically. “And I suppose that, if we’re in the same bed, at least you can’t try and go downstairs without me again.” 

Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “True,” he said, beginning to get changed into his sleepwear.

Draco turned his back slightly and changed too. They looked at each other once more before climbing into bed cautiously. Draco settled himself on one side of the bed, breathing a sigh of relief as he didn’t experience any tingling while Harry made himself comfortable on his own side of the bed. 

“Okay, this is good,” he said. “We don’t need to be right next to each other.” 

“Good,” Harry agreed. “Might be different tomorrow, but for now, this is good.”

Draco nodded, picking his book up again. “I’m going to read a couple of chapters now, then go to sleep, if that’s okay?” 

Harry nodded. “Yeah, I’m going to do the same,” he said. “I got to one of my favourite parts last night before I fell asleep.” 

They both picked up their books and began to read, Draco occasionally asking Harry a question about something in the book. 

Before long, they were both stifling yawns and Draco’s eyes were beginning to sting. He marked his place and put his book down. “I’m going to sleep now,” he announced, glancing at Harry. “Goodnight.” 

“Me too,” Harry said, putting his book down too and stretching his arms above his head for a second. “G’night.” 

Draco shuffled around slightly as he laid down. He usually slept on his right side, but he felt awkward about doing that when it meant he would be facing Harry. So, he laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling. 

Harry, on the other hand, had no qualms about lying down and facing Draco. He’d put his glasses on the bedside table, so everything was a bit of a blur and he couldn’t really see what Draco was doing. 

Eventually, they both drifted off to sleep. During the night, Draco turned over so that he was lying on his right side and that was how he woke up the next morning. He hadn’t expected to wake up with Harry’s face so close to his on the pillow, or Harry’s arm slung loosely over his waist and he blinked in surprise. As Harry continued to sleep, Draco studied his face. The man was, really, quite good looking, he thought as he took in the smooth skin and messy hair. 

Harry let out a soft sigh and shifted slightly in his sleep, leaving him lying even closer to Draco. Draco swallowed and closed his eyes again. It had been a while since he’d shared his bed with anyone and he had to admit that having contact with another person was nice, even if it didn’t mean anything. Slowly, he slipped back into sleep, allowing his own arm to creep across so that it was lying over Harry’s waist.

Another hour or so passed before Harry stirred, inadvertently rolling over towards Draco even more. Draco blinked his eyes open again, coming face to face with Harry. He’d never realised exactly how green Harry’s eyes were before. “Uh…”

“Morning,” Harry mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep. 

“Morning,” Draco whispered hoarsely. He wanted to withdraw his arm, but he didn’t want to draw too much attention to the fact that it was still draped across Harry’s waist with his hand slightly tucked under the hem of the t-shirt Harry wore to sleep in.

Harry blinked and rolled onto his back, stretching his arms up over his head. “Sorry, I told you I was a cuddler,” he said with a yawn. 

Draco pulled his own arm back to his side as Harry rolled over and pushed himself up on one elbow. “Don’t worry about it,” he said, running his free hand through his hair. “I told you I didn’t mind. It was actually quite… never mind.” He broke off, realising that he didn’t really know how to word what he’d felt without making himself sound pathetic. 

“I think that was the best night's sleep I’ve had in a while,” Harry said quietly, placing his glasses back on his nose and looking over at Draco. “I still suffer from nightmares sometimes.”

Draco paused before nodding. “Me too.” 

Harry sighed, placing his hands behind his head on the pillow. “Do you ever think about what you’d be doing if you’d had a different life?”

Draco let his hand drop to the duvet, picking at a loose thread. “Sometimes,” he admitted. “I wonder what my life would have been like if I’d had different parents.”

“I wonder what my life would have been like if Voldemort had marked Neville as The Chosen One instead of me,” Harry confessed. “His birthday is the day before mine and the prophecy could have easily have been about him.”

“We’d all be under _his_ rule if it had been about Longbottom,” Draco replied, unable to help himself. 

Harry shook his head, but couldn’t help but give a smile. “He was a lot braver at the end of our school years, you know,” he said. “From fifth year on. He really shone as part of the DA.”

“Mm, still,” Draco replied. “I think we’re all better off that it was you. You’re probably the most resilient person I’ve ever met.”

“Well, thanks,” Harry chuckled. “Right. We’d better get up. I need the toilet and a shower… oh. I don’t know how we’re going to shower.”

Draco’s eyes widened as he, too, thought about the logistics of showering. “Well… well, maybe I can stand outside while you shower? I mean, we didn’t _need_ to be in contact with one another last night, did we, that just happened.”

“I suppose we can try it,” Harry said doubtfully. “It’ll depend on whether we can walk down the landing without holding hands, I suppose.”

“Let’s go then,” Draco said, beginning to slide out of the bed. 

Harry did the same on his side of the bed, moving quickly to reduce the chance of the tingling starting. He joined Draco at the end of the bed and they headed for the bathroom. 

As they walked along the landing, they were relieved to note that although they weren’t holding hands, they weren’t in any pain either. 

“Well this is a good start,” Harry said as Draco pushed the bathroom door open. 

“Yes,” Draco replied, holding the door for Harry. “No pain so far.” 

“Much better than yesterday morning,” Harry pointed out. 

“That _was_ your fault,” Draco answered, raising one eyebrow.

“I know, I know,” Harry groaned. “What can I say, I’m no good when I’m half asleep.” 

“Mm, apparently not,” Draco said. “Shower or loo first?” 

“Loo, definitely,” Harry said, motioning for Draco to turn his back. 

Draco dutifully obeyed, gazing at the wall while Harry did what he needed to do, then they switched places. Once Draco was done, they both gazed balefully at the shower then looked at each other.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to [potter_loves_malfoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potter_loves_malfoy/pseuds/potter_loves_malfoy) for betaing ❤️

Once they’d managed to have the most awkward shower of their lives and were dressed again, Harry and Draco made their way downstairs where they found Ulysses tapping on the window. 

“Ulysses!” Draco exclaimed, hurrying to let the owl in. 

Harry followed quickly, his arm beginning to tingle as Draco moved further away. He stumbled to a stop before he walked right into Draco. “Has he got Flitwick’s reply?” 

“Yes,” Draco said, carefully untying the letter from Ulysses’ leg and unrolling it. “He says he’ll Floo in at lunchtime,” he added, passing the parchment to Harry. 

Harry studied the letter. “Alright, that works for me. I should make a start on that paperwork Hermione brought me yesterday.” 

“I need to get some research done.” Draco nodded. “Breakfast, then work?” 

Harry nodded in response. “Yeah, we can ask Kreacher to put the bacon on and I’ll make the coffee.”

Draco gave a half-smile. “Sounds good.” 

They set about getting the cups out and putting the kettle on to boil while Kreacher started to cook the bacon. They kept close together and didn’t experience any pain during the whole process. Harry was surprised at how comfortable he felt working with Draco. He couldn’t help but feel that he was entirely too comfortable with the new living arrangements. 

Draco, while helping Harry make the coffee, took every opportunity he had to steal glances at him. He ran a hand through his hair, wondering how his views on Potter could have changed so dramatically in such a short time. Draco had been adamant, the day he’d picked the candlestick up, that there was no way a marriage between himself and Harry could work. But, the more he thought about it, the more at ease with the idea he was becoming. Potter wasn’t the annoying, specky git he remembered from school who had constantly come out on top even after breaking a million and one school rules. Far from it, Potter was actually a decent human being who happened to be quite handsome. The realisation of which made Draco’s stomach do a little flutter and he couldn’t decide whether he should be pleased or concerned about it.

They ate breakfast in companionable silence and then headed to the office to begin their work. It took them less than five minutes to realise that having separate desks wasn’t going to work right now, and they ended up pushing them together so that they could sit side by side. They worked solidly until they heard the Floo chime in the kitchen. 

Harry glanced up at the clock. “Wow, lunchtime already,” he commented. “That’ll be Professor Flitwick.” 

Draco rolled his neck slightly, stretching the muscles that had cramped from being bent over his papers for so long. “Is Kreacher making lunch?” 

“I’m sure he will,” Harry said, standing up and stretching. “We’ll have to tell him what we want.” 

Draco joined Harry as he left the office and crossed the hall to the kitchen. They entered the kitchen just as Professor Flitwick stepped out of the fireplace.

“Good afternoon gentlemen,” Flitwick said, smiling up at them both. “How are you both?” 

“Well, we’ve been better, Professor,” Harry said, smiling. “Thank you for agreeing to come and see us.” 

“We really appreciate it,” Draco added, motioning for Professor Flitwick to sit down. 

“It’s really no trouble,” Flitwick replied, climbing onto the bench and making himself comfortable. “I must admit, your letter was very intriguing. It was also something of a surprise when I saw The Daily Prophet.” 

Harry glanced at Draco, flushing slightly. “Er, yeah... Things definitely aren’t like _The Prophet_ made out. We weren’t on a date, we were there to discuss our situation and someone took a photo at the wrong moment.” 

“I see,” Professor Flitwick said, nodding in acknowledgement. “Well, whatever the reason you were there, it is nice to see you two boys finally getting along.” 

Harry and Draco shared another glance and a small smile. 

“Yeah, we’ve both found out that the other isn’t so bad, now we’ve grown up,” Harry said, a slight look of embarrassment crossing his face. 

Draco nodded. “Whether it is because it’s easier not to fight, we don’t know. But I’ve found that I actually don’t mind living with Potter.” 

“It’s only been two days, but I’m used to Malfoy being here now,” Harry added. “We’re managing quite well.” 

“Good, good,” Professor Flitwick said with a smile. “But, I must confess, I’m still a little puzzled as to what you called me here for?” 

Harry sighed, sitting down opposite the professor. Draco sat beside him, barely two inches away. “We’ve found ourselves… bonded, by way of old, Pureblood magic.” 

“My grandparents had a set of old candlesticks,” Draco said, taking up the conversation. “They were bewitched to bond couples or, apparently, betroth them. We each picked one up and, well, here we are.” 

“We basically have to get married, or we will likely die,” Harry said. “We think. We have an appointment to see the Curse Breakers on Thursday, but we were wondering whether you had any experience with this kind of magic, or advice you could give us?” 

Professor Flitwick, whose face had worn a variety of expressions during the explanation, now looked thoughtful. “Hmm. Who have you spoken to regarding this so far?” 

“St. Mungo’s, Malfoy’s mother and Hermione,” Harry said, glancing at Draco to make sure he was right. “Oh, and Blaise Zabini.” 

Professor Flitwick nodded. “What was the advice from St. Mungo’s?” 

“Basically to get used to one another because there was nothing they could do,” Draco said, dryly. “They said that to remove the curse would be a lengthy process and may not work.” 

“I see. And Mr Zabini?” Professor Flitwick asked, still looking thoughtful. 

“Well, he was a bit more help,” Harry said, frowning as he tried to remember what Blaise had said. “He did recommend that we try and get the magic reversed before we need contact to establish the bond, but…” 

“We’ve already reached that stage,” Draco finished. “Or as good as, anyway. We, ah… we can no longer sleep in separate beds. The magic appears to be working differently to usual bonding magic.” 

Professor Flitwick nodded again. “I see. So at first, you were able to be apart?” 

Harry nodded. 

“But now you’re required to be closer?” Flitwick continued. 

Draco nodded this time. 

“That does sound unusual,” Flitwick said, frowning slightly. “Would you mind if I conducted some diagnostic spells?” 

Harry shook his head at the same time that Draco said “Not at all.” 

Flitwick pulled his wand out and hopped off the bench. He made his way around the table until he was standing in front of Harry and Draco. Pointing his wand at them, he began to murmur soft incantations. 

Harry watched as Professor Flitwick’s wand emitted a soft glow. He glanced sideways at Draco, who was chewing his lip gently.

After a few moments, Professor Flitwick put his wand away and made his way back around the table to sit down. “Well, gentlemen, I’m afraid I’m going to have to disappoint you,” he said with a sigh. “The magic is, indeed, very old and it is because of this that it’s behaving in a different way. Because it has been dormant for so long, it appears to be taking a while to work properly. Though, from what you’ve said, it is almost at full strength. Once you do need to be in contact, the bond will begin to form in earnest.” 

“What, so what’s happening now isn’t the full effect?” Harry asked, his eyes wide. 

Professor Flitwick shook his head. “I’m afraid not, Mr Potter,” he said, a sympathetic look appearing on his face. “It is simply getting warmed up. If, as you say, you are not able to sleep in separate beds, I would guess that it will only be a few hours before you need to actually be in contact with one another at all times.” 

Draco gave a small groan. “Are you able to help at all?” 

“I wish I could, Mr Malfoy,” Flitwick sighed. “Unfortunately, my experience with the removal of this kind of magic is limited. I would not be confident in my ability to remove it without potentially injuring one, or both, of you.” 

Harry bit his lip. “Professor… what is the likelihood of the Curse Breakers being able to help us?” 

“I wouldn’t like to say, Mr Potter,” Flitwick replied. “They may have someone who is more experienced in this kind of thing, where it won’t be a problem for them. But, you must be prepared for the eventuality that they cannot help. I am sure that they will try their best, of course.” 

“So… we’re probably going to be married, then…” Draco said faintly, looking at Harry worriedly. 

“It is a possibility, Mr Malfoy, yes,” Flitwick said, gently. “I am very sorry that I could not be of more help to you both.” 

“We’re very grateful that you came,” Harry said, quickly. “We weren’t sure what to expect, this is such an odd situation for us.”

“I can only imagine how you both must feel,” Professor Flitwick said, giving them a sympathetic smile. “For what it’s worth, you are both managing this admirably and I believe that, should the worst happen and you end up being married, you will cope.” 

“Thanks, Professor,” Harry said quietly. He wasn’t entirely sure how to take what he’d just heard. He supposed a part of him had still been confident that they’d get the magic reversed. 

“Please get in touch if I can be of help at any point,” Professor Flitwick said. “Now, I really should get back to the school. I would appreciate it if you would let me know what the Curse Breakers say?” 

Harry nodded, glancing at Draco briefly. He’d been very quiet since Professor Flitwick had spoken. “We will. Thank you again, Professor.” 

“It was no trouble,” Flitwick said, hopping down off the bench again. “Goodbye, boys.” 

“Bye, Professor,” Harry said, watching as Flitwick stepped into the fireplace, called out ‘Charms Office, Hogwarts’ and disappeared. Then he turned to Draco. “Are you okay?” 

“This is really happening, isn’t it?” Draco whispered, his gaze not leaving the table. “We’re going to get married.” 

“We might not have to,” Harry said softly. “The Curse Breakers might be able to help.” 

“Do you really believe that?” Draco asked, finally meeting Harry’s gaze. 

Harry felt his breath catch in his throat at the intensity of Draco’s look. “No,” he whispered. “Not really.” 

Draco swallowed hard. 

“We’ll… we’ll manage,” Harry said softly, shifting closer to Draco. “I know it’s not ideal, but…” 

“Not ideal?!” Draco yelped. “Potter, do you have any idea how people are going to take this?”

“Well, no but…” Harry began. 

“There are no buts! They’re not going to believe that I haven’t bewitched you! They’re going to be out for my blood!” Draco continued, looking pained. 

“But we shouldn’t care about what people say,” Harry protested. “We know the truth! That should be all that matters!” 

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re not going to be the one that gets vilified - again!” Draco cried. 

Harry bit his lip, not sure what to do. 

“I’m going to be branded evil all over again,” Draco continued, his eyes wide with fear. “No-one will trust me, I… I won’t be able to leave the house!”

Harry refrained from pointing out that they couldn’t leave the house right now anyway. Instead, he reached out a shaky hand, slipping his arm around Draco’s shoulders to pull him into a one-armed hug. 

Draco resisted for a few seconds, pulling away from Harry, before giving in and allowing himself to rest his head on Harry’s shoulder. 

“How are you so calm?” he whispered, his chest still heaving with the deep breaths he was taking. 

“I don’t feel calm.” Harry sighed. “I just thought we could probably both do with a hug.”

Draco gave a humourless laugh. “A hug isn’t going to solve our problems.”

“Maybe not, but - and maybe this is because I didn’t get them as a child - they’ve always helped calm me down when I’ve been overwhelmed,” Harry said, resting his chin on Draco’s head. 

Draco didn’t say anything, just let his arms sneak around Harry’s waist. 

Harry wrapped his free arm around Draco as well, so that he was holding him, and they sat like that for a long time. Harry couldn’t help but feel that everything was suddenly becoming a bit too real. 

“Potter…” Draco said after a long while. 

“Mmm?” Harry asked, blinking at the sudden interruption of silence. 

“I’d like to see my mother,” Draco said softly. “I want… I need to talk to her.” 

Harry bit his lip gently again. “Do you want to go to her or do you want her to come here?” 

“Could we go to her?” Draco asked. “Would you mind?” 

“No,” Harry said after a few moments. “I wouldn’t.” 

“Thank you,” Draco said, breathing a sigh of relief. “Can we go today?” 

Harry glanced at the clock and nodded. “We might as well,” he said. “I don’t think either of us is going to get any more work done are we?” 

Draco shook his head. “No, probably not.” 

Harry sighed softly. “Should we go now?” 

Draco lifted his head to look at the clock too. “Yes,” he said. “She’ll be back from her lunch appointment.” 

“Come on then,” Harry said, releasing his hold on Draco. He immediately felt a sense of loss, not to mention warmth, as they separated. “You won’t mind me being there while you talk to her?” 

“How can I mind?” Draco asked, stretching slightly. He, too, felt a sense of loss when Harry let go of him, but he wouldn’t admit it. “If you’re not there, I won’t be able to concentrate because of the pain.” 

“Well, I know, but I don’t know what you want to talk to her about,” Harry said, standing up. “It could be something private for all I know.” 

“Oh. No, it’s not really,” Draco said. “I just want to talk to her about our situation and the fact that no-one thinks the Curse Breakers will be able to help. Besides, I don’t think I have much that’s private from you anymore.”

“That’s not by choice though, is it?” Harry asked, watching as Draco stood up and joined him at the fireplace. 

“No. But I suppose we need to get used to the idea that it might be a permanent way of life,” Draco replied. “If the Curse Breakers are no help, anyway.” 

“True. And _I_ suppose it’s about time I had a civil conversation with your mother,” Harry admitted. 

“She’d like that,” Draco said softly, with a small smile. “She told me the other day that she doesn’t hate you.” 

“Good to know.” Harry smiled. “I’ll let you do the honours with the Floo powder.” 

Draco nodded, taking a pinch of the powder from the canister on the mantelpiece. He and Harry stepped into the fireplace and he threw the powder down, while saying “Malfoy Manor!”

Within seconds, they were stepping out of the fireplace that was set in the kitchen of Malfoy Manor. No-one was in sight. 

“Where will your mum be?” Harry asked, looking around the kitchen. He had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach, which he assumed was a memory associated with the last time he was in this house. 

“She could be anywhere,” Draco admitted. “But my guess is the parlour. This way.” He led Harry out of the kitchen and down a long hallway. 

Harry was surprised to note that the hallway wasn’t as dark as he’d expected it to be. Quite the opposite, in fact. It was light and airy, with none of the dark framed portraits that he remembered seeing. “It’s different to how I remember,” he said softly, gazing around. 

“Yes,” Draco nodded, glancing over his shoulder at Harry. “Mother had the whole place redecorated after the end of the war. She wanted no trace of Him or his followers left.” 

Harry nodded, not saying anything.

“I like it better this way,” Draco continued, as they reached the end of the hallway. “When He was done, that wasn’t how I remembered my home. It was tainted. A fresh start was what we all needed.” 

“It must have been hard for you,” Harry said softly, nodding. “What did your, er, father think?” 

Draco paused. “He liked it,” he said. “He just didn’t get the chance to appreciate it for very long before he ended up in St. Mungo’s. When he died… I should have felt sad, but I just couldn’t. I was still angry.” 

“Didn’t you two make up before he died?” Harry asked curiously. 

“In a way,” Draco said. “We were certainly on better terms. But I didn’t go to see him in the hospital as often as I should have. I threw myself into my work and ignored the owls that my mother sent me, pleading with me to go and see him because he was getting weaker.” 

“What was it that he died of?” Harry asked in a soft voice. “The Prophet never said.” 

“No, they wouldn’t,” Draco said, a slightly bitter tone to his voice. “They made more of the fact that he was an ex-Death Eater than the fact that The Dark Lord had somehow placed a curse on him that no-one knew about, not even him.” 

“He was cursed?” Harry asked, surprise evident in his voice. 

Draco nodded. “Horrible, isn’t it? If we’d realised, we might have been able to get him help in time. But he was already so weakened by the time he got admitted to the hospital, that he didn’t stand a chance.” 

“I’m sorry,” Harry replied genuinely. “I would never have wished that on him, although I know he wasn’t my biggest fan.” 

Draco let out an unexpected laugh. “You could say that,” he said. “If he could see us now… well, he definitely wouldn’t give us his blessing.” 

“No, I don’t suppose he would,” Harry said with a smile. “Maybe he’d have been able to help us sort the situation out.” 

“Perhaps, though it would almost certainly have been through Dark methods if he was able to help,” Draco replied pointedly. 

“Hm. Good point,” Harry nodded.

Draco pushed a heavy door open and poked his head around the frame. “Hello, Mother,” he said with a smile, entering the room.

Harry stopped in his tracks at the sight. He didn’t think he’d ever seen such a genuine smile on the face of Draco Malfoy. He quickly hurried after Draco as his arm began to sting. 

“Draco! How lovely to see you,” Narcissa said, smiling warmly as she stood up to greet her son. “And… Mr Potter. Hello.” 

Draco kissed his mother on the cheek and when Harry reached his side, Draco glanced at him with relief. 

“Um. Hello, Mrs Malfoy,” Harry said, nervously. “I…”

“You are welcome in my home,” Narcissa interrupted, shaking her head slightly. “I never did get to thank you properly for what you did for us at the trial.” 

Harry flushed and ducked his head. “It was nothing,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t let either of you go to Azkaban.” 

“But still. You deserve to be thanked,” Narcissa said, gesturing for Harry and Draco to sit down. “Would you like something to drink?” 

Harry glanced at Draco, before shaking his head. “No, thank you,” he said. “I had a cup of coffee at home.” 

“Very well,” Narcissa said, seating herself on the edge of a plush armchair. “Draco?” 

“No, thank you, Mother,” Draco replied, shaking his head. “I wanted to come and see you, to update you on our… situation.” 

“Oh. Yes. How are you both coping?” Narcissa asked, leaning forward slightly in anticipation. 

“Better than we thought we would,” Draco admitted, glancing at Harry. “Although we are no longer able to be in separate rooms.” 

“Ah. I feared that might be the case,” Narcissa said, nodding. “How long did it take?” 

“Last night was the first night that we slept in the same room,” Draco said. “Before that, we could be in our own bedrooms. It seems to have moved quite quickly.” 

Narcissa nodded again. “Have you spoken to anyone else regarding it?” 

“Professor Flitwick visited us this lunchtime,” Draco said. “He said… he thinks that because the magic laid dormant in the candlesticks for so long, it’s sort of working in reverse at the minute. The distance we can be apart has been steadily decreasing and the next step is probably that we’ll have to maintain contact with one another.” 

“I see,” Narcissa said, a slight frown on her face. “And then what?” 

“And then the bond will begin to form,” Draco sighed. “Ordinarily, the bond would begin to form straight away and the distance would increase, but we are, apparently, in a unique situation.” 

Narcissa nodded again. “So, did Professor Flitwick think that there’s something that can be done to reverse the magic?” 

Draco hesitated before shaking his head. “He wasn’t sure,” he said. “He… wasn’t hopeful.” 

“And how do you both feel about that?” Narcissa asked, looking between Draco and Harry. She had taken note of how close they were sitting, and could see that the relationship between them was growing.

Draco and Harry looked at each other, maintaining eye contact for longer than was strictly necessary. 

“Well, obviously it’s not ideal,” Draco said after a moment. “This is hardly the best way to start a relationship. I don’t even know if that’s what I want.” 

Harry nodded in agreement. “I feel the same. It’s certainly not how I would choose to get married.”

“Of course not,” Narcissa replied, nodding thoughtfully. “But… neither of you seem as angry as you were originally?” 

Draco looked at Harry again, before shaking his head. “I’m not… we’ve got used to each other over the last couple of days,” he said. “We’re making things work.” 

“I’m not angry now, either,” Harry said. “It’s a bit… unconventional, but…” 

“We’ll manage,” Draco finished. 

Narcissa smiled. “I have no doubt that you will, should the Curse Breakers be unable to help.”

“Mother,” Draco started. “If… if we were to end up married…” 

“Draco, I have already told you that it doesn’t matter to me,” Narcissa said gently. “If you are happy, then I am happy. I know that this may not be how you thought you _would_ be happy, but if it happens, and you are able to make it work, then who am I to argue?” 

Draco flushed and looked away. 

“Mrs Malfoy,” Harry said after a moment. “I would never have pictured myself on the verge of being married to your son, but… if we were to be married, I don’t think it would be the worst thing in the world. We have proven that we can tolerate each other in close proximity now and I have no doubt that our tolerance would improve over time.”

Narcissa nodded. “I believe that too, Mr Potter,” she said. “I can see for myself that you two are, indeed, getting along much better than you have in the past. If I am not mistaken, I would even say that you’re on the way to becoming friends.” 

Draco and Harry looked at each other again. 

Harry nodded hesitantly. “I think you might be right,” he said quietly. “The last two days have been completely different to how I expected they’d be. I thought we’d argue a lot more than we have.” 

“Me too,” Draco whispered, his cheeks still flushed, though he had an expression of terror on his face now, rather than embarrassment.

Narcissa looked at Draco, her expression softening. “Draco,” she said softly. “Do not get ahead of yourself. You still have the appointment with the Curse Breakers, and if they are able to help and remove the curse, then you and Mr Potter can continue to be friends. It would be a shame to stop the friendship from developing just because you are no longer betrothed.” 

“I know,” Draco said softly. “I’m not used to this…” 

Harry shifted awkwardly in his seat. This felt like it should be a private conversation between Draco and Narcissa. 

“This is another chance, Draco,” Narcissa continued. “I know that you–and I–have been treated cruelly by the general public since the trials. I understand how you feel, and believe me, I have felt the same way. But you cannot let this control your opportunities. Whether you and Mr Potter end up married or not, you _can_ make something of your life in this country. People _will_ forget the past eventually.” 

Draco swallowed, looking away from both Harry and Narcissa. He nodded. “I know.” 

Harry felt his chest clench at Draco’s words. It angered him that both Draco and Narcissa were still being vilified by most of the wizarding world, especially after so much time had passed. He was sure that neither of them were the same person they were once.

“You two can accomplish so much together–whether as friends or a couple–and you should remember that,” Narcissa spoke again. “Do not waste the opportunity if it comes your way.” 

Harry glanced at Draco before looking back at Narcissa and shaking his head. “We won’t,” he said. “I’ll make sure of it.” 

Narcissa smiled and nodded. “I’m sure you will,” she said.

Draco remained silent, trying not to look at Harry again. He fidgeted slightly in his seat. “We should be going,” he said eventually. “We need to eat.” 

Narcissa nodded again, standing up. “Allow me to see you out,” she said. 

Draco stood up too, prodding Harry in the arm until he was also standing. 

“Do let me know what the Curse Breakers have to say,” Narcissa said, leading them to the door. 

“We will, Mother,” Draco replied, following her out of the room. Harry hurried to keep up.

“It’s been lovely seeing you,” Narcissa added. “I have missed you, Draco.” 

“I’ve missed you too,” Draco said, softening again. “I know it’s only been two days, but I haven’t spent this much time away from the Manor in a long time.”

“This isn’t a bad thing, though, Draco,” Narcissa said. “It does no harm to have some independence.” 

“I know, I know,” Draco sighed. “I’ll be in touch on Thursday.” He leant forward to kiss Narcissa on the cheek. “Floo me if you need anything,” he added before pausing and looking to Harry. “That’s okay, isn’t it?” 

Harry nodded. “Of course it is,” he said. “It’s been nice to see you, Mrs Malfoy.” 

“You too, Mr Potter,” Narcissa replied, giving Harry a smile. 

“Please, call me Harry,” Harry asked, looking pained. “Mr Potter is just… it reminds me of school.” 

Narcissa hid her smile and nodded. “As you wish,” she said. “Good luck with the Curse Breakers.” 

“Thank you,” Harry and Draco said together, looking at each other in surprise. They stepped into the fireplace, and within seconds, they were back in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to Etalice for looking this chapter over for me ❤️

Waking up the next morning, Harry found Draco’s arm draped across his waist again with Draco still sleeping peacefully next to him. Harry took the opportunity to study Draco’s features without being questioned. He noticed how relaxed Draco’s face was while he was sleeping, no sign of the worry that seemed to be plaguing them both at the moment. He realised how long Draco’s eyelashes were, watching as they fluttered slightly against the smooth skin of Draco’s cheeks. He smiled slightly at the sight of Draco’s fringe falling across his face. It was always rare to see Draco in such disarray. 

Sighing softly, Harry shifted so that he was lying a little bit further away from Draco and closed his eyes again. He’d only had them closed for a second or two when his arm began to tingle. Groaning, he rolled back towards Draco, only stopping when the tingling in his arm subsided. 

Draco grunted in his sleep, tightening his grip on Harry’s waist briefly. “Stop testing the magic,” he mumbled without opening his eyes. 

Harry couldn’t help but smile to himself. “Sorry,” he whispered. 

Draco grunted again in reply before letting out a contented sigh. 

They slept for another half an hour without any further incidents of tingling limbs, then Harry realised he needed the toilet. Opening his eyes, he looked at Draco, who was still sleeping peacefully. “Malfoy,” Harry whispered. 

“‘m sleeping,” Draco mumbled, still not opening his eyes. 

“You need to wake up,” Harry said softly. “I need the loo.” 

“Sleeping,” Draco repeated, digging his fingertips into Harry’s side. 

“I need the loo,” Harry said again, his voice becoming more urgent. “Unless you’re into watersports, you’d better wake up.” 

Draco opened his eyes to find himself looking into Harry’s eyes for the second morning in a row. “Seriously, Potter? Must you wake me like that?” 

“Well, nothing else was going to work, was it?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. “Not if the way you were holding onto me is anything to go by.” 

Draco flushed. “I was comfortable,” he said, defensively. 

“So was I, until five minutes ago,” Harry said. “Now, we need to get up.” 

Draco groaned but pushed himself into a sitting position. “Alright, alright,” he muttered. “Let’s go.” 

Harry sighed with relief and sat up too, sliding out of the bed. “We can always try for another half hour once I’ve been to the loo,” he said. 

“Maybe,” Draco replied, standing up and stretching. “I might be too awake now, it won’t be the same.” 

Harry shook his head as they left the bedroom. “You mean you don’t just want to have a cuddle in bed?” 

“Potter…” Draco said warningly. 

“I’m kidding,” Harry said with a grin. “I know what happens when we’re asleep doesn’t happen when we’re awake.” 

Draco reached a hand out and flicked the back of Harry’s ear. 

“Ow!” Harry hissed. “There was no need for that!” 

“I beg to differ,” Draco said, sniffing as they entered the bathroom. “Come on, hurry up.” 

Grumbling, Harry did what he had to do and turned to wash his hands. 

“Wait,” Draco said immediately. “I need to go now.” 

“Fine, fine,” Harry sighed, standing still, his back to Draco as he got on with it. 

“Okay, done,” Draco announced as he flushed the toilet and turned to wash his hands too. “I have a feeling we’re going to have to be a lot closer than usual today if this morning was anything to go off.” 

Harry nodded, sticking his hands under the tap. “Yeah, I wasn’t that far away from you when my arm started tingling. What time is our appointment with the Curse Breakers tomorrow?”

“Ten,” Draco replied, rinsing the soap off his hands and groping for the towel without moving away from Harry. “Only one more day then, hopefully, this will be all over.” 

“Hopefully,” Harry echoed, reaching out to dry his hands too. “I know that everyone keeps saying they don’t think even the Curse Breakers will be able to help, but I can’t help but keep hoping they will.” 

“I know. Me too,” Draco said, waiting for Harry. “I mean… not that this isn’t okay, but…” 

“I know, it’s not what either of us imagined,” Harry said, opening the bathroom door again. “For the record though, I think your mother is right. We should remain friends if the Curse Breakers manage to remove the curse.” 

Draco nodded, following Harry back along the landing and down the stairs. “I think so too,” he said. “I’m getting used to you being around.” 

Harry grinned. “Imagine if we’d said that at school.” 

Draco laughed. “We’d have worried the whole school, I think.” 

“We’d have ended up in the hospital wing,” Harry nodded. “Kreacher!”

“Yes, Master Harry?” Kreacher appeared with a crack. 

“Can you make us some breakfast please?” Harry asked. “We’ve got work to do today. I’ll make the coffee.” 

Draco stuck close to Harry as he made his way to the stove, picking up the kettle on his way. 

“Of course, Master Harry,” Kreacher replied, bowing low. “What would masters want?” 

“Bacon and eggs, please Kreacher,” Draco replied before Harry could speak. “And some toast.” 

“Yes, Master Draco,” Kreacher said, bowing once more before bustling over to the fridge to take out the bacon. 

“You know,” Harry said, looking at Draco over his shoulder. “I think we should see if we can go to the Curse Breakers this afternoon. If we turn up, surely they’ll see us?” 

Draco shook his head. “They won’t,” he said. “That’s not how they work. They won’t even let us in before our appointment time.” 

“Really?” Harry asked, frowning. 

“Really,” Draco replied. “Although… if _you_ asked, they might see us…” 

Harry paused and looked Draco in the eye. “Are you telling me that you didn’t mention my name when you asked?” 

“No, I didn’t,” Draco replied, looking down. “I didn’t think you’d want me using your name like that.” 

“Well…” Harry said, realising that Draco was right. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t. This is probably an exception though…” 

“I should have asked,” Draco sighed. “I didn’t think, sorry. Let’s have breakfast and go over there.”

Harry nodded. “It’s okay,” he said. “We were both… well, we weren’t thinking straight, were we?” 

Draco shook his head. “No. We weren’t. I wrote to them while I was angry,” he said, passing Harry two mugs. 

“Well, no harm done,” Harry said, shrugging as he spooned coffee into the mugs. “We’ll go over today and see if they’ll see us.” 

Draco bit his lip as he watched Harry pour hot water over the coffee, stirring each mug until it was exactly right.

“Hey,” Harry said softly, catching Draco’s eye. “It’ll be okay. If they can help us, great. If they can’t, well… at least we’ll have tried.” 

Draco took the mug that Harry was holding out to him. “Thanks,” he said. “Let’s just hope they can help.” 

Harry nodded, taking a sip from his own mug just as Kreacher set two plates full of food on the table. He nudged Draco to sit down, stepping over the bench himself and lowering himself onto it. 

Draco sat next to Harry obediently and began to eat his breakfast without saying a word.

***

Harry glanced at Draco nervously. They had just arrived at the Curse Breakers’ offices and were currently standing outside of the main door. “This could be it,” he said. “This could lead to our freedom…”

“With any luck,” Draco nodded, though he shared Harry’s nervousness. “Come on.” 

Taking a deep breath, Harry stepped forward and pushed the door open before stepping inside, Draco following closely. 

“Is this a bad time to tell you my arm is tingling?” Harry asked in a soft voice, glancing back at Draco. He hadn’t been sure before, but now that they were a step apart, he knew. 

“No,” Draco replied in a whisper. “Mine is too.” 

Harry inhaled deeply and held his hand out to Draco, who took it hesitantly. The relief was instant as the tingling immediately stopped as the contact was made. “Do you think this means it’s too late?” 

Draco hesitated again but shook his head. “No,” he said. “It just probably means that the magic is fully activated now and we’re going to need to maintain contact until the bond is established.” 

“Great,” Harry sighed. “Fingers crossed they can help us then, or we’ll be showering together later.” 

Draco flushed at the words but nodded. “There’s the reception desk,” he said, pointing with his free hand. 

“Come on then,” Harry said, leading Draco towards it. “And keep your fingers crossed that my name has some influence.” 

They both made faces at Harry’s words, before grinning at each other as the absurdity of the situation hit them. Approaching the desk, Harry smiled at the witch sitting behind it even though she wasn’t looking at them. 

“Hi,” he said. “We have an appointment tomorrow, but we were wondering if there’s anyone who would be able to see us today. It’s Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.” 

The witch, who hadn’t looked up as they’d approached, lifted her head swiftly. “Harry Potter?” 

“Yes, and Draco Malfoy,” Harry repeated. “We would like to see someone about some bonding magic, if it’s at all possible.” 

“Let me have a look for you,” the witch said, opening a large appointment book that sat on the desk in front of her. “You’re in luck,” she said after a moment. “Your appointment tomorrow is with Irwin Biscus and, as it happens, he is free at the minute. Please take a seat and I will request a meeting for you.” 

“Thank you,” Harry said, smiling again and tugging on Draco’s hand to lead him to the waiting area.

“Typical,” Draco muttered as they sat down. “ _Your_ name gets us somewhere.” 

“I’m sorry,” Harry said, apologetically. “I can’t help their opinions of me.” 

Draco sighed. “I know,” he said. “I’m not annoyed at _you_. I’m annoyed at myself because I can’t help but think if I’d mentioned your name, or you’d written to them, the other day, they’d have seen us straight away.” 

“Well, like I said, there’s no harm done,” Harry said, frowning slightly. “We’re here now.” 

“Mm,” Draco said, slumping in his chair, though not letting go of Harry’s hand. 

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand gently, without thinking, resulting in them looking at each other in surprise. “Er…” Harry stammered.

Draco shook his head. As he opened his mouth to speak, the receptionist beckoned them back to her desk. 

“Irwin Biscus will see you now,” she said. “Down the corridor, third door on your right.” 

“Thank you,” Harry said again, and they set off down the corridor. “I’m nervous,” he said as they passed the second door. 

“So am I,” Draco said, realising that his stomach was in knots. “I… I don’t know what I want to happen now.” 

Harry stopped, surprised. “What do you mean?” 

“I don’t know,” Draco whispered. “I think it’s just the nerves talking. We… we will stay friends if he can remove the curse?” 

Harry nodded, squeezing Draco’s hand again. “Yes,” he said firmly. “Your mother was right. We could do so much together–we’d have so much influence on things–we’d be stupid to fall out again. I quite like having you around at home too… you can stay if you want, regardless of whether we remain betrothed or not…” 

Draco smiled, forgetting his nerves. “I’d like that.” 

Harry grinned again. “Come on then,” he said. “Let’s go and see what Irwin Biscus can do for us.” 

They continued down the corridor until they reached the third door on the right. They raised their free hands and knocked together. 

“Come in,” Irwin called.

***

“So, gentlemen, what can I do for you?” Irwin Biscus was a squat man with a wide neck, reminding Harry very forcefully of a fat toad. His dark hair was slicked back, giving him a greasy appearance. He gestured at the chairs that sat opposite him without getting up to greet them.

Harry glanced at Draco, frowning slightly, as they sat down. “Well, we have come into contact with some very old, Pureblood bonding magic and we were wondering if you could help us undo it.” 

“Bonding magic, eh?” Irwin mused, his eyes roving over them, making Draco squirm uncomfortably. “Blood magic?”

Draco shook his head. “No, thankfully not,” he said. “It appears to have been activated by touch alone.” 

“Hmm,” Irwin hummed, pulling his wand out and pointing it at them. He began to mutter incantations, ignoring the simultaneous flinch that Harry and Draco had given at the sight of a wand being pointed at them without warning. “Who placed the spell on the…” he trailed off, leaving his question unfinished. 

“Candlesticks,” Draco finished. “It was my grandparents - Druella and Cygnus Black.” 

Irwin looked at Draco properly for the first time, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Black, you say?”

Draco nodded, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He was sure that this man knew exactly who his family was. 

“Hmm,” Irwin hummed again, waving his wand once more. He examined the shimmering spell cast that was hovering in front of him. “Interesting. Very interesting. How old were these candlesticks?” 

“I don’t know,” Draco exclaimed, exasperatedly. “Old. Well, older than my mother, at least.” 

“Mmhmm,” Irwin muttered, frowning as he waved his wand again, vanishing the spell cast. “How long ago did you touch the candlesticks?” 

Harry glanced at Draco, trying to remember. “Four days ago? Maybe?” 

“And the distance you need to have from each other has… decreased?”

Harry and Draco nodded in unison. 

Irwin frowned and scribbled something on a piece of parchment that was in front of him. “How quickly did it decrease?” 

“Very,” Harry said. “We are already at the stage where we are unable to be anything more than a few millimetres apart. In fact, it might even be at the stage where we need contact with each other.” 

“I see,” Irwin muttered, summoning a large book from one of his shelves. 

“Have you ever heard of anything like this before?” Harry asked, giving Draco a sideways glance. 

Irwin didn’t answer as he flipped the pages of the book rapidly. Stopping abruptly, his eyes skimmed down the page so fast that Harry found it disorienting to watch. 

Draco cleared his throat. 

“Sorry, gentlemen,” Irwin said after a moment or two. “To answer your question, Mr Potter, no I haven’t heard of anything like this before. I’ve dealt with plenty of bonding magic curses, but nothing this old. In fact, I don’t believe anyone here will have dealt with anything like this before.” 

Harry glanced at Draco once more. 

“This book is a record of every curse we have dealt with,” Irwin continued, tapping the book in front of him. “Charmed, of course, to be able to hold everything in the same book so we only need to do one search when we’re faced with a new case. Unfortunately, my search for any other cases that are similar to this one has been unsuccessful which leads me to think that the magic placed on your grandparents’ candlesticks was something of their own invention.” 

“Surely they… were they allowed to do that?” Draco asked, his eyes wide. 

“Mr Malfoy… do you really need me to answer that?” Irwin asked, raising one eyebrow in Draco’s direction. 

“No,” Draco whispered. “I don’t.” 

“As we do not know the origins of the magic,” Irwin continued. “It would be foolish of me to attempt to remove it at the moment.” 

“So you can’t do anything?” Draco asked flatly. 

“He said ‘at the moment’,” Harry said, turning to Draco. “Does that mean you may be able to in the future?” he asked, turning back to Irwin. 

“Potentially,” Irwin replied with a nod. “But, it will likely not be an easy process. It is certainly going to take some time to research it. Did you happen to bring the candlesticks with you?” 

Harry shook his head with a low groan. “No. We didn’t think.” 

“If you could send them on to me once you get home, that would be a help,” Irwin said, making a note on his parchment. “Then I will be able to look into the exact magic that has been used and hopefully begin to unravel it.”

“And until then?” Draco asked. 

“Until then, I would advise you to obey the magic,” Irwin replied seriously. “I know that it perhaps isn’t ideal, however, if you wish to be safe then that is the only recommendation that I can make.” 

Draco held back his sigh and nodded. “I thought you’d say that.” 

“Good thing we’re getting used to it then, isn’t it?” Harry said, giving Draco’s hand another squeeze. 

Draco frowned but nodded again. “I suppose so.” 

“I am sorry that I could not be of more help,” Irwin said, though the brusque tone of voice suggested that he wasn’t sorry at all. “But it really would have been better for you to come directly to us the moment you found out.” 

Draco opened his mouth to reply, his eyes flashing with anger, but Harry hauled him to his feet. 

“Thanks anyway,” Harry said quickly, cutting Draco off. “We’ll be sure to send the candlesticks on tonight.” 

Irwin nodded, shuffling his paperwork on the desk in front of him. “Very well,” he replied, without looking up. “I will be in touch once I can come up with an answer for you.” 

“We’ll look forward to hearing from you,” Harry said, pulling Draco towards the door and ignoring the fact that the other man was trying to wrench his hand free of Harry’s. 

“Mmhh,” Irwin grunted, his attention now focused on his filing cabinet. 

Harry opened the door and dragged Draco out into the corridor.

“What did you do that for?” Draco exploded, turning to Harry. “He acted like-” 

“I _know_ ,” Harry said, trying to placate him. “But was there any point in shouting at him? He couldn’t have looked less interested once we said we didn’t have the candlesticks. And yes, I know that it was _their_ fault we didn’t come to see them straight away.” 

“This isn’t _fair_ ,” Draco hissed, letting the grip of his hand go slack in Harry’s. “We are cursed and they could have helped sooner, but because of _my name_ , they refused to see us.” 

“Don’t,” Harry said harshly. “Don’t blame yourself. This _isn’t_ your fault. They’re not supposed to be prejudiced, they’re supposed to help, regardless of who’s asking.” 

“This is exactly why this would be no good,” Draco said, his voice trembling slightly. “If we… if they don’t remove this curse, our lives are going to be miserable. You’re going to be tarnished with my bad name, people will think… they’re going to think I’ve done this on purpose.” 

“Don’t,” Harry said again, squeezing Draco’s hand again. “Come on. Let’s go home. We need some food, then we can… we can talk about this.”

Draco looked at Harry, a broken expression on his face. He’d hoped that everyone would be wrong and that the Curse Breakers would have removed the curse in seconds, he hadn’t allowed himself to think that the opposite might happen, not fully, despite what he’d said during their visit to Malfoy Manor. He nodded, shoulders slumping in defeat. 

Harry led Draco away from Irwin Biscus’ office and back towards the reception area where they could take the Floo from.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to [potter_loves_malfoy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potter_loves_malfoy/pseuds/potter_loves_malfoy) for betaing ❤️

Stepping out of the fireplace at Grimmauld Place, Harry turned to look at Draco again. “Do you feel any better?” 

Draco shook his head, still looking miserable. “Potter, this is just…” 

Harry shook his head. “Don’t you dare say it’s your fault, or that my life will be however much worse because of it,” he said. “We need to plan for the eventuality that Irwin Biscus can’t take the curse off, because I’ll be honest, I don’t think he’s going to put himself out over this.” 

“I know, but can you honestly say that this is what you want?” Draco sighed, shaking his head. “We’re not… we haven’t…” 

“I know,” Harry said softly. “We’re not, but… we could be. We need to make this work,” he added, pulling Draco into a hug. 

Draco allowed himself to be hugged, letting his arms slide around Harry’s waist. He pressed his forehead against Harry’s shoulder and closed his eyes. This way, he could forget the situation and just enjoy the moment of closeness. 

They stayed like that for a few moments before Harry pulled away slightly. “We need to eat,” he said softly. “And send those candlesticks. Will Ulysses take them?” 

Draco nodded and gave a small sigh. “Yes,” he said. “Although we’ll have to ask Mother for the one at the Manor.” 

“Do you think she’ll bring it through the Floo to us?” Harry asked. “I really don’t feel like going anywhere else today.” 

“I should think so,” Draco said. “I’ll call her now,” he added, turning back to the fireplace. He took a pinch of Floo powder from the tin on the mantelpiece and threw it into the flames. 

Within a few seconds, Narcissa Malfoy appeared in front of them. “Draco, is something wrong?” 

“Mother,” Draco said, before faltering. “I…” 

“Mrs Malfoy,” Harry said, realising that Draco was going to struggle. “We’ve just come back from the Curse Breakers.” 

“I thought your appointment wasn’t until tomorrow?” Narcissa asked, her voice immediately full of concern. 

“We went today on the off chance that they’d be able to see us early,” Harry explained. “And we were in luck. Sort of.” 

“Mother, can you get that blasted candlestick and come through?” Draco asked before Narcissa could speak. “We’ll explain everything when you get here. Don’t touch the candlestick with your bare skin, just in case.” 

Narcissa nodded. “Give me five minutes,” she replied, standing up and moving away. 

Harry turned to look at Draco, biting his lip gently as he took in the despondent look on Draco’s face. “It’s all going to be okay, you know,” he said softly. “Your mother will–”

“I know she’ll understand, Potter,” Draco snapped. “She’s always been understanding. She knows about this magic; I know she does. And I know we’re going to be okay. That doesn’t mean that I am _fine_ about all of this! My life has been…” He paused and shook his head, a look of frustration crossing his features. Then he sighed. “Look, this is a shock. Forgive me for needing a bit of time to get used to it.” 

“Sorry, sorry,” Harry said, sitting back slightly. “I thought…” 

“That’s the problem; you’re always thinking.” Draco sighed, his shoulders sagging. “Sometimes I need a bit of time to… process things.” 

“I’m sorry,” Harry said again. “I forget that not everybody is like Hermione. She likes to talk things over until they don’t seem so bad, I suppose I just got used to doing it.” 

“It’s alright,” Draco said, meeting Harry’s gaze again. “I know we need to talk about it, but can we wait until my mother’s here? She needs to know what’s happening.” 

Harry nodded. “Of course,” he said. “At least we know she’ll be on our side.” 

Draco sighed once more and nodded. He turned his attention back to the fireplace, waiting for Narcissa to make her way through. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he waited - a nervous habit he’d picked up while at school.

Harry stayed quiet, but studied the side of Draco’s head as they waited. He could see a tiny vein throbbing at his temple, the way his jaw was moving as he chewed the inside of his cheek. Harry had an overwhelming urge to run a hand through Draco’s hair - something that he stopped himself from doing. He was sure that if he attempted to do such a thing, he would be hexed six ways from Sunday, the mood that Draco was in. 

Fortunately, he was saved from having to sit on his own hand when the flames roared and Narcissa stepped through into the kitchen. She looked around and nodded once. 

“Draco, Harry,” she said, turning to them as they stood up. “Here is the candlestick,” she added, holding out a canvas bag. 

“Thank you,” Draco replied, taking the bag and putting it on the table. “We need to send it to the Curse Breakers tonight.” 

“Am I to take it, from your woebegone expression, that it did not go well at the Curse Breakers, Draco?” Narcissa asked. 

Draco shook his head. “Would you like some tea, Mother?” 

“There is time for that later,” Narcissa replied, waving a dismissive hand. “Shall we go through to the parlour?” 

“Er, there isn’t a parlour anymore, Mrs Malfoy,” Harry interrupted, a sheepish expression on his face. “But the lounge is right through here.” 

Harry stood up and led the way through the house to the lounge, clutching Draco’s hand as they walked. 

Narcissa followed, looking around as she did so. “I like what you have done with the place, Harry,” she said. “This new decor is much more attractive than how my aunt preferred it.” 

Harry gave a small smile. “Thanks,” he said. “It was much too dark for me before. Please, have a seat,” he added, gesturing to his favourite chair while he and Draco sat down on the sofa. 

Narcissa seated herself primly on the edge of the chair, turning her attention back to the two men. “Now, what happened?” 

Draco took a deep breath. “Irwin Biscus hates me,” he said, a petulant expression appearing on his face and reminding Harry of the Draco from school. 

“Draco, please, no dramatics,” Narcissa sighed. “I am quite sure that this Mr Biscus does not _hate_ you. What did he have to say?” 

“He came to the conclusion that the magic was something of Grandmother and Grandfather’s devising,” Draco muttered. “And that it would be foolish of him to attempt to remove it without knowing the origins. He had no record of any similar cases, and no reference to work with.” 

“Meaning that we are, essentially, going to have to be married,” Harry added. “Unless he can figure something out before the bond is fully established. That’s why we needed you to bring us the candlestick. We need to send the pair to him, which we’ll do later tonight.” 

“He’s not going to figure it out,” Draco sighed. “He has no intention of helping us. He couldn’t get rid of us fast enough.” 

“Draco, I said no dramatics,” Narcissa said, frowning at him slightly. 

“Unfortunately, he’s not being dramatic this time,” Harry said, glancing at Draco out of the corner of his eye. “Irwin Biscus gave me the impression that he couldn’t be less interested in helping us. He barely looked at us, pointed his wand at us without warning and then accused us of waiting too long to seek their help.” 

Narcissa frowned once more. “But Draco contacted them the very evening that you were both at St. Mungo’s,” she said, confusion evident in her voice. “They said they couldn’t see you until Thursday.” 

“Exactly,” Harry replied. “Yet, when we went to their office today and I spoke to the receptionist…” 

“They suddenly had an appointment today,” Narcissa finished, nodding her head in understanding. “I see.” 

“This is my fault, Mother,” Draco said, his voice tight. 

“I’ve told you–” Harry began, turning to Draco. 

“Don’t!” Draco snapped. “It _is_ my fault, whether you think so or not. If _you_ had owled them that night, we’d have been seen the next day.” 

“I’m afraid Draco may be right, Harry,” Narcissa said softly, looking between them. “I know you may be willing to overlook my family’s past, but you are, unfortunately, in the minority. It appears that this extends to the Curse Breakers.” 

Harry frowned and shook his head angrily. “Then it’s not fair,” he said. “Everything has changed since the war. You’re not… neither of you are the people you once were.” 

“We know that, Harry,” Narcissa said sadly. “And we are most grateful that you are of the same opinion. But we must accept that the wider wizarding world is not yet ready to forgive us.” 

“If I’d said in my letter that I was betrothed to you,” Draco began bitterly. “Then I bet they’d have jumped to help us. They wouldn’t want the saviour being tainted by _me_ \- an ex-Death Eater. Even though I was never… I didn’t…” 

Harry closed his eyes and squeezed Draco’s hand impulsively. “I know you didn’t,” he said softly. “I know you took the Mark, but I know… I know you did it under pressure.”

“Draco was given that Mark against my express wishes,” Narcissa said, her voice hard now. “I will _never_ forgive my husband for that. He died knowing that, and it is a stance I maintain. Draco’s innocence was lost the moment that…” she broke off, her own eyes closed as she attempted to gain her composure once more. 

Harry gazed at Narcissa, his eyes wide. He glanced at Draco, who was sitting with his head bowed. His hand had gone slack in Harry’s once more. 

“I loved my husband with all my heart, Harry,” Narcissa began again. “But, as you must know, I would have done anything to keep _my son_ safe. I was unable to keep him from being inducted into that… group of madness and I bitterly regret that. However, after all we suffered in our own home during Voldemort’s residence, both Lucius and I were incredibly grateful that you spoke in our defence during the trials. I will never know whether Lucius truly saw the error of his ways, but I choose to believe that he did. Unfortunately, he died before he was able to repair our reputation and this has meant that Draco and I have been viewed in the same way as he was, despite neither of us having joined the Death Eaters. Draco may have the Mark, but Voldemort refused to have a sixteen-year-old Death Eater in his ranks.” 

Harry glanced at Draco again, seeing him in a new light. “But… why give him the Mark then?” 

“He wanted to be able to keep an eye on me,” Draco said softly. “He knew that if I had the Mark, he had me in his grasp. He’d be able to control me through fear. And he was right… look what I did. Everything I did… I did it because I was petrified he was going to kill me, or my family. I couldn’t see any way out.” 

“Voldemort’s plan was for Draco to fail in his mission,” Narcissa said softly. “He told Lucius as much, when he thought I wasn’t listening. He didn’t put much... faith in a sixteen-year-old to be able to kill Dumbledore and he thought that would be the ultimate punishment for Lucius’ failings the previous year–if Draco failed, he would be killed by Voldemort.” 

“H-he told Lucius that?” Harry asked softly, reflexively squeezing Draco’s hand. “But that’s…” 

“He didn’t care, Harry,” Narcissa said, giving him a sad smile. “Surely you know that? You spent so long learning about him; you know the type of person he was. Another death meant nothing to him. However, he did not know that I… went to Severus and made him take an Unbreakable Vow. Draco was protected, Severus vowed to complete the task if Draco was unable to. That gave me some comfort, but I was still afraid.” 

“But… but Snape knew Dumbledore was dying,” Harry said, frowning. “He… when you couldn’t… he _asked_ Snape to do it…” 

“Dumbledore was a smart man, Harry,” Narcissa said. “Knowing him, I imagine he had already asked Severus to do it if needed. I would not be at all surprised if he knew what Voldemort had asked of Draco.” 

“He knew,” Draco whispered. “That night on the Astronomy Tower, he knew it was me all along. He knew about everything I’d tried to get to him. He… he offered me help.” 

Harry nodded. “I heard him,” he said softly. 

Draco looked at Harry in surprise. 

“We’d been searching for one of the Horcruxes,” Harry explained. “We’d just got back when you turned up on the Astronomy Tower. He put a body bind on me to make sure I didn’t interfere, but I heard everything. I knew you weren’t one of them.” 

Draco swallowed and nodded. “If… if Aunt Bella and the others had been a bit later, it might have been different.” 

“We can’t keep thinking of the ‘what ifs’, Draco,” Narcissa said gently. “Things happened the way they did for a reason, even though we might not understand that reason. Trust me; I have spent many hours wondering what would have happened had your father not been as… fanatical about blood purity as he was.”

“I wish things had happened differently,” Harry admitted. “But wishing doesn’t change anything.” 

Draco sighed softly. “I know,” he said. “But I can’t help it. I’ve thought about it a lot. If I could have found a way out of that mission–one that wouldn’t get me or my parents killed–then I would have taken it.” 

“I know you would have, sweetheart,” Narcissa said, patting Draco’s knee gently. “That is why I went to Severus in the first place. I wanted to be as sure of your safety as I could be. It was bad enough that you saw the things you did, I didn’t want you being forced to do anything like that.”

Draco closed his eyes and turned his head away. 

Harry watched him curiously, but didn’t ask any questions. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. 

“My point is, Harry,” Narcissa continued, bringing the conversation back to the original topic. “Unfortunately people have long memories and they will not forget that Draco was involved in the plot to kill Dumbledore, despite him not actually doing it. Neither he nor I are treated like we once were. We have made a lot of enemies–on both sides–and that will not go away.” 

Harry licked his lips which had become inexplicably dry as he’d listened to Narcissa’s speech. “It’s still not fair,” he said softly. “Neither of you deserve it. The Curse Breakers have no right to withhold their services just because of your name.” 

“Perhaps not, but they did,” Draco said, his voice hoarse. “And if we go through with this, it will continue to happen. You… you need to be aware of that.” 

Harry turned to look at Draco, his eyes searching Draco’s face. “I know,” he said finally. “And I’m more than aware of it. It doesn’t change anything. I know what I’ll be getting into if we go through with this, and… I’m ready for anything that is thrown our way.” 

Draco swallowed and nodded after a moment. “Alright,” he said softly. “Then so am I.” 

Narcissa gave a small, proud smile at Draco’s words. “I should be getting back,” she said. “But I am glad that you both seem to be on the same page now. This won’t be easy for either of you, I’m sure, but if you are at least on the same page, you will be able to handle it. Make sure you wrap those candlesticks well before sending Ulysses off with them.” 

Draco finally broke his eye contact with Harry to look at Narcissa and nodded. “We will. Thank you, Mother.” 

“For everything,” Harry added, also turning to look at Narcissa. 

Narcissa nodded and stood up. “You know where I am if you need me for anything else,” she said. “Don’t be strangers.” 

Before either Harry or Draco could respond, she had Disapparated with a crack. 

Harry blinked and turned back to Draco. “Does she do that often?” 

Draco shook his head. “Not really,” he said. “She normally likes to linger.” 

Harry shrugged. “Oh. Well, I suppose we should send these candlesticks to Irwin Biscus,” he said. “Then we should probably eat something.” 

Draco didn’t move. “Why are you so understanding about all this?” he asked, looking Harry in the eye again. “Why aren’t you more angry about the situation? You could… you’re Harry Potter. You could have anyone, why settle for being trapped in this… _mess_ with me?” 

Harry snorted with laughter. “People always say that,” he said, shaking his head. “‘You could have anyone’. What if I don’t want _anyone_? I mean, how would I know they wanted me for _me_ and not just my name? Forgive me, but I’d rather be trapped in the mess with you than be with someone who only likes me because of my name. I know that would never be the case with you.” 

Draco blinked this time, continuing to gaze at Harry in quiet amazement. “Well. That’s one thing you’ve got right,” he said. “I’m not about to fall at your feet just because you’re Harry Potter. If I fall at your feet… you probably tripped me.” 

Harry laughed, his head thrown back. “I can’t even argue with that,” he grinned. “Look, I know it might seem crazy to you that I’d be willing to take myself off the market, for want of a better phrase, but if I’m honest, I don’t know that I’d ever get married otherwise. So it’s not like you’re stealing anyone else’s chance.” 

“Seriously? Why wouldn’t you get married?” Draco asked, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. 

“I don’t even know whether I would want to marry a man or a woman,” Harry said, shrugging. “I can’t _picture_ myself marrying anyone. I don’t know why, but it’s just not something I’ve ever thought about in any great detail.” 

“I always thought I’d be married someday,” Draco said. “But, then again, that might have been because my father was always telling me how important to him it was that I continue the family name. That… isn’t such a priority anymore.” 

“No,” Harry nodded. “I can imagine it’s not.” 

“No-one in their right mind would want to take my name,” Draco sighed. “Not now. Even if I managed to restore our reputation, I’m not even sure what I’d be restoring. I feel like everything my father drummed into me when I was younger was a lie.” 

“Well, I’m not going to lie, I think your family’s reputation depended on who you were talking to,” Harry admitted. “Obviously, the Weasley’s didn’t think the same thing as the Parkinson’s, for example.” 

“No,” Draco agreed. “Quite understandably. But that’s what I mean. I’d be better off trying to build a new reputation.” 

“We can do that,” Harry said. “We can get you recognised for your ability with potions under your own name, rather than whatever name you’ve been going by. I can help.” 

“Maybe,” Draco said. “It won’t be easy.” 

“When have I ever run away from a challenge?” Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“To my knowledge? Never,” Draco said.

“Exactly,” Harry replied. “You need to stop worrying about me and my reputation. I don’t care what people think of me. They already write rubbish in the papers; I just ignore it. Do you know how many random witches I’ve been linked to?”

Draco shook his head. 

“Too many to count,” Harry continued. “None of it is true. Most of them, I’ve never even met. At least being linked to you will give them a new angle.” 

Draco snorted. “Have you ever been linked to a wizard?” 

“Other than you? Not that I know of,” Harry replied. “But then, my sexual preferences aren’t really common knowledge. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve had… experiences with both men and women since things ended with Ginny, but the experiences I’ve had with men have been with Muggles. It felt… safer, somehow.” 

Draco nodded thoughtfully. “I think I can understand that,” he said. “For most people, it wouldn’t be a big deal. For you… you’d be on the front page.” 

Harry nodded. “Exactly. That didn’t seem fair to me. Again, not for my reputation or anything, but it wouldn’t be fair on anyone I was with.” 

Draco shook his head. “No, I suppose not,” he said. “Especially not if they were just figuring things out too.” 

“Got it in one,” Harry said. “I did have fun, and it helped me realise that yes, I do find men attractive as well, but it would probably have been a different story if those times had been with wizards, and we’d been pictured falling out of a club together or something.” 

“Is that what happened?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. “You fell out of clubs with men?”

“Only once,” Harry said, shrugging. “We’d had too much to drink and, well, got a bit too...happy.” 

Draco snorted again. “Classy.” 

“It never happened again,” Harry said defensively. “It wasn’t long after the end of the battle, and I’d gone there to… forget. It worked too.” 

“I bet it did,” Draco said. “A blowjob can be handy like that.” 

“How did you-” Harry began, his eyes wide. 

“I didn’t,” Draco grinned. “Until now. You’re not the only one who’s had _experiences_ , Potter. Being in France had its perks, you know.” 

Harry chuckled. “I bet,” he said. “Wizards?” 

Draco shook his head. “I thought the same as you,” he said. “Plus, there was the name thing again - no wizard would have touched me. Muggles… they don’t care what I’ve done in the past, and some of them were very, very good looking.” 

“Well. Who would have thought we’d have so much in common?” Harry quipped after a moment. “This might work out better than we thought.” 

Draco laughed. “Maybe. I mean, I won’t be telling my mother that we’ve bonded over our stories of blowjobs with Muggles.” 

Harry shuddered slightly. “No, please don’t,” he said. “That would make things even more awkward.” 

“Yes it would,” Draco agreed. “I most certainly don’t want to have _that_ conversation with her. It was bad enough finding out that she knew I’m gay before I told her.” 

“I bet that conversation was fun,” Harry said, making a face. “Do you think she’s, I don’t know, psychic or something?” 

“Oh, please,” Draco said. “You do know that ‘psychic’ isn’t a thing? Legilimency, however… I’m pretty sure she knows that.” 

“So, basically, don’t think anything like that around her?” Harry asked. 

Draco nodded. “Yes. It will be safer,” he said. “Unless you know how to practice Occlumency?” 

Harry shook his head, making a face at the same time. “No. I never quite managed it,” he admitted. “I tried to learn in fifth year.” 

“How come you didn’t manage it?” Draco asked curiously, tilting his head to look at Harry. 

Harry sighed. “Snape was trying to teach me,” he said. “I wasn’t… well, you know how I got on with Snape back then. I couldn’t clear my mind properly, and he didn’t help.” 

Draco looked thoughtful and nodded. “I can’t imagine the lessons went well,” he said. “I don’t think they’d have gone well if he’d tried to teach me either, actually. Not back then.” 

“He… wasn’t the most patient,” Harry said. “But then again, I wasn’t the most open to learning either. I didn’t try as much as I should have. That’s part of the reason I blame myself for Sirius dying. If I’d been able to close my mind, Voldemort wouldn’t have been able to make me think he had him at the Ministry.” 

“You can’t blame yourself,” Draco said, shaking his head. “Not if Snape didn’t do his best to make you understand why you needed to do it. Why was he teaching you anyway? Why didn’t Dumbledore?” 

Harry sighed again and shrugged. “Dumbledore thought that if he taught me, Voldemort would use me to get to him or something. So he asked Snape to do it.” 

Draco shook his head. “Forgive me, I know you liked Dumbledore, but that doesn’t seem like he had your best interests at heart,” he said. “Why would he ask Snape to do it when he knew you and he didn’t get on?” 

Harry shrugged again. “I don’t know. He thought he was doing the right thing, I suppose. But… if I’m honest, he barely spoke to me at all that year. I was the most frustrated I’d ever been at Hogwarts. No-one would tell me anything, no-one believed me, _you_ were being a dick,” he said. 

“Hey! I… well, I can’t actually argue, I suppose,” Draco protested, before realising that Harry was right. 

“Exactly. You _were_ being a dick, but then, I doubt you thought I was any better,” Harry said, giving Draco a pointed look. “We were both stroppy teenagers.”

Draco nodded. “I know,” he said. “I always thought you were being a dick, trying to break the rules and get away with it.”

“I suppose it must have looked like that, but I honestly didn’t try to break rules,” Harry said. “Well… not all the time anyway. And when I did, I only did it for good reasons. Which is more than can be said for you, I seem to remember you breaking curfew just to get me into trouble in first year.”

Draco shrugged. “You’ve got me there,” he admitted. “Although, I was just jealous that you had a dragon.” 

“It wasn’t _my_ dragon,” Harry protested without thinking. 

“I knew you had one! I knew I hadn’t seen things!” Draco exclaimed. 

Harry laughed. “No, you hadn’t,” he said. “It was Hagrid’s, someone had given him an egg in the pub, and you know what he’s like.” 

“What _did_ you do with it in the end? Did you take it up the tower?” Draco asked curiously. 

Harry nodded. “Ron’s brother Charlie came to take him back to Romania,” he said. “He was going to look after him.” 

Draco shook his head. “I knew it,” he said softly. “After all these years, it’s nice to finally have that confirmed.” 

Harry grinned. “Come on. Let’s get Ulysses to take these candlesticks and then Kreacher can make us some dinner.” 

Draco sighed and stood up. “Alright,” he said. “I suppose we should, really. Even if Biscus won’t make us his priority.” 

“Well, maybe we’ll get lucky and he will,” Harry said as he stood up too. “I think I have a box we can put the candlesticks in. That might make it easier for Ulysses to carry them.” 

“And less risky,” Draco added, nodding. 

“Yes, and that. That is very important; we don’t want Ulysses being cursed,” Harry said. “I don’t know if it would affect an owl.” 

“I would imagine it will,” Draco said. “Probably not in the same way, but I don’t want to put Ulysses at risk. A box is a must and plenty of wrapping.” 

Harry nodded. “Let’s go and find the box then,” he said. “I think it was in the office.” 

“Oh, I think I did see one in there,” Draco nodded. “We should be able to put a shrinking charm on the candlesticks if they’re too big for it.” 

“Good idea,” Harry replied, leading the way out of the lounge and to the office.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much love to Amelior8or for continuing to beta this monster ❤️

A couple of hours later, Harry and Draco had sent the candlesticks on their way and had eaten the dinner that Kreacher had prepared for them. 

“Where did the time go today?” Harry sighed, leaning back on the bench. “I feel like I’ve done nothing today.” 

“That’s because we haven’t, really,” Draco sighed. “We spent a good couple of hours with Irwin Biscus and then my mother was here for another couple of hours. We didn’t even eat lunch.”

“Oh yeah,” Harry said slowly. “No wonder I was so hungry, then.”

Draco nodded. “I really want to just read some more of that Roald Dahl book now, but… I have to be attached to you.”

Harry looked thoughtful. “We’ll have to sit together then,” he said. “We don’t need to be holding hands, just touching somehow.”

“The book is in my room and the door is closed,” Draco pointed out. “I can’t just summon it. We’re going to have to go and get it.”

Harry groaned softly. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s go then.” 

Draco stood up, tugging on Harry’s hand until he was also standing. They made their way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to Draco’s room, where they located the book quickly. 

“Wait,” Harry said as they passed his doorway. “I just want to grab something.” 

Draco allowed himself to be led into Harry’s room, watching as Harry picked up a thick woollen blanket. “What’s that for?” 

“If we’re going to read, we’re going to do it properly,” Harry said. “There’s nothing better than reading a book, tucked up under a blanket, in front of a roaring fire.” 

Draco stared at Harry for a moment. “Really? You want to snuggle under a blanket together?” 

“I didn’t say snuggle,” Harry pointed out. “But if you want to snuggle… be my guest,” he added with a grin.

“Oh… shut up,” Draco muttered, the tips of his ears turning pink. “You made it sound like snuggling.” 

Harry grinned. “Come on,” he said. “Kreacher will make us some hot chocolate later. I think reading under a blanket might be the distraction we both need after the day we’ve had.” 

Draco rolled his eyes and heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Alright, you’ve twisted my arm,” he said. “Lead the way.” 

Harry led Draco back out of the room, closing the door behind them before they headed back down the stairs–awkwardly as they were still hand in hand–and into the lounge. He sat down on the sofa, pulling Draco down beside him so that they were still touching. Shaking the blanket out, he spread it across both of their laps. He paused and looked at Draco. “Alright?” 

Draco nodded, and they were both acutely aware of the warmth that was spreading through them at all the points where their legs met. 

“Good,” Harry said softly. He pulled his wand out and pointed it at the fireplace, watching as the flames swelled and rose higher. Then he settled back against the cushions and summoned his copy of _Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator_.

“That’s not the book you were reading yesterday,” Draco observed, looking at the cover. 

“No, it’s the sequel,” Harry replied. “It’s alright, not quite as good as the first one, but I always read it when I’ve finished the first one.” 

“Oh. Is there a sequel to this one?” Draco asked, holding up _The BFG_. 

Harry shook his head. “No, that’s the only one. I think you should try _The Witches_ after that one. “ 

“There’s a book about witches too?” Draco replied with interest. 

Harry nodded, smiling. “Yep. I mean, it doesn’t give the greatest impression of witches, but it’s a good book.” 

“Hmm. Maybe I will try that one then,” Draco replied. “I’m nearly finished with this one now.” 

“What was your favourite story as a child?” Harry asked. 

Draco shrugged. “I don’t know really,” he said. “Mother read _Beedle The Bard_ to me almost every night and I used to get the Martin Miggs comic books.” 

“Oh yeah, Ron told me about those,” Harry said with a smile. “He showed me some when I stayed at The Burrow once. The wizard’s ideas of what Muggles are like are as amusing to me as Roald Dahl’s ideas of what giants are like are to you.” 

“I can imagine,” Draco said, giving Harry a small smile. 

Harry smiled again, lowering his gaze to his book. “Enjoy your book,” he said. 

Draco nodded, shifting so that he was leaning against Harry slightly and began to read from where he left off. 

Harry inhaled deeply as he began to read the first chapter. Try as he might to concentrate, his thoughts kept wandering to the conversation they’d had with Narcissa that afternoon. He remembered the way Draco had looked away from his mother when she had reminded him of things he had seen at the Manor during Voldemort’s reign and a curiosity was gnawing away at him. He wanted to ask Draco about it, but he wasn’t sure how well Draco would take that line of questioning. 

“Ask the question,” Draco’s quiet voice broke the silence between them, jolting Harry from his thoughts. 

“What?” he asked guiltily. 

“Ask the question,” Draco repeated. He was gazing at Harry with nervous eyes. 

“How… how did you know what I was thinking about?” Harry asked, his book lying forgotten on his lap. 

“You were just staring at the book,” Draco replied. “You weren’t reading.” 

“Oh… well, alright. What were the ‘things’ that your mother mentioned you seeing?” Harry asked, his voice dropping. 

He watched as Draco chewed his lower lip gently, looking away from Harry as he had done from Narcissa earlier. After a few moments, he turned back and Harry could see the haunted expression that had appeared in Draco’s eyes. 

“Do you remember the Muggle Studies professor from school?” 

Harry nodded hesitantly. “Professor… Burbage?” 

Draco nodded too. “Yes. I… there was a meeting. He’d kidnapped her and strung her up over the dining table. He tortured and humiliated her and then… he killed her,” he said softly. “She was just… gone. She pleaded with Snape to help her, but of course he couldn’t. It was… it was one of the worst things I’ve ever witnessed. It was horrific. I… when I got away from the table, back to my room, I threw up and then passed out. I never want to see anything like that ever again. None of it. It’s why I distanced myself after the war. It’s why I didn’t give you away to Aunt Bella and my father - I didn’t want that to happen to you.” 

Harry, who had listened to Draco’s story open-mouthed, couldn’t help himself and slid one arm around Draco, pulling him closer. “I had no idea,” he said softly. 

“No-one did,” Draco replied, feeling oddly grateful for Harry’s strong arm around him. “I didn’t want that information getting out, for obvious reasons.” 

“No-one knew what happened to Professor Burbage,” Harry mused. “The Order had their suspicions, but there was no proof…” 

“He fed her to Nagini,” Draco whispered, closing his eyes as the memory swept over him, bringing a familiar feeling of nausea with it.

“Oh, _Merlin_ ,” Harry whispered, resting his forehead against the side of Draco’s head. 

“Can we talk about something else now?” Draco asked, swallowing. 

“What do you want to talk about?” Harry asked. 

“Anything. Nothing. Not this,” Draco replied. 

Harry left his forehead against Draco’s temple for a moment. “I think we should have that hot chocolate now, don’t you?” 

Draco nodded, glad that Harry didn’t push the conversation. 

“Kreacher!” Harry called softly, and they both watched as the elf appeared with a crack. 

“Master Harry called?” Kreacher asked, bowing. 

“Yes, could you make us some hot chocolate please?” Harry asked. “With marshmallows.” 

“It would be Kreacher’s pleasure, Master Harry,” Kreacher replied, bowing low once more before disappearing again. 

Draco sighed. “Thank you,” he said. “I know I told you to ask but I’d forgotten how talking about that time makes me feel.” 

“We don’t have to talk about it any more,” Harry said. 

“Talking helps sometimes,” Draco replied. “But I don’t like doing it too often unless there’s a Mind Healer present.” 

“Have you spoken to a Mind Healer, then?” Harry asked curiously. 

Draco nodded. “Once or twice,” he said. “Mother arranged for me to see one after the end of the war, before I went to France. It did help, I think. I might have remained angry at my father, but I could move on after everything.” 

Harry nodded. “I spoke to one too,” he said. “Quite regularly, actually. Not just for war stuff, but stuff from my past too. When I was a kid, before Hogwarts.” 

“Muggle stuff?” Draco asked, tilting his head slightly so he could look at Harry. 

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Harry replied with a nod. “The way my aunt and uncle treated me, mostly and how they affected my… perception of familial relationships.” 

“What does that mean?” Draco asked with a frown. “You’ve never given me the impression that you have a problem with relationships.” 

Harry shook his head. “Not romantic relationships,” he said. “They couldn’t affect the way I grew up after I got to Hogwarts and that’s where I learned about that kind of stuff.”

Draco nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense, I suppose,” he said. “I suppose that’s where I learned all that too.” 

“My aunt and uncle were awful to me,” Harry said. “Not in public. Oh, no. They wouldn’t have wanted to be seen as anything other than normal, loving parents in public. But at home, my life wasn’t really worth living until I got to Hogwarts.” 

Draco licked his lips. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to,” he said softly. His mind was working overtime now, wondering how he’d never realised that Harry had grown up in such a dysfunctional home. Being an only child who had been doted on by his parents, he couldn’t imagine how it must have felt to be treated badly. His father might have been on the crazy side, but Draco had never doubted that he was loved by him. 

Harry shrugged. “I’m alright talking about it now,” he said. “Like I said, I’ve spoken to the Mind Healers about it plenty of times.” 

“What did they do?” Draco asked, shifting slightly. “Your aunt and uncle, I mean.”

Before Harry could reply, Kreacher reappeared with a tray that held two mugs of foaming hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows. “Your hot chocolate, sirs,” he said, bowing as he held the tray above his head.

“Thanks, Kreacher,” Harry said, reaching over and taking the mugs from the tray. He handed one to Draco. 

Kreacher bowed again and disappeared again. 

Draco shifted again, sitting up a bit more so that he could drink his hot chocolate. “This is good,” he said after taking a sip. 

Harry smiled and nodded. “Kreacher makes good hot chocolate,” he said. “And to answer your question, they basically treated me like, well, a house elf.” 

“A house elf?” Draco asked, blinking. “Like… how you treated Dobby or how… _we_ treated Dobby?” 

Harry paused and looked down at his mug for a moment before looking back at Draco. “How you treated him,” he said softly. “I mean… I don’t know how you personally treated him, but…” 

Draco nodded. “It’s alright, I know what you mean. We weren’t exactly the best example of House Elf owners.”

“No, you could say that. I suppose my aunt and uncle weren’t quite as bad, but they expected me to cook and clean. They fed me, but I always got less than Dudley. Even when he was put on a diet. But, I didn’t actually complain that time because the diet was awful. I had cakes and sweets from Ron, Hermione and Hagrid hidden in my room,” Harry explained, finishing with a grin. 

Draco laughed. “Well that’s one way to survive a diet,” he said. “I can’t imagine you needed to be put on a diet. You weren’t fat.” 

“I didn’t,” Harry said. “If anything I needed feeding up, though I can’t remember the doctors ever telling my aunt that. If I’d annoyed them, I’d get cold soup or beans to eat. It wasn’t great, but at least they did feed me.” 

“I never really stopped to wonder why you didn’t get food parcels and things from home, you know,” Draco said thoughtfully. “It was just something else for me to make fun of you for.” 

“Do you know, it didn’t really bother me,” Harry admitted. “I was so used to having nothing at home, that it was weirder for me to receive something. The first Christmas I spent at Hogwarts was the first year I actually got presents.” 

Draco, who had just taken another sip from his mug, coughed violently. He wondered if he’d heard that right, having been used to receiving expensive gifts at the drop of a hat, not just at Christmas. “What?” he gasped, recovering from the coughing fit. 

Harry nodded, patting Draco on the back lightly. “Well, the first year I got what could be classed as proper presents. The Dursley’s just used to give me ridiculous things for presents, like a single toothpick or a fifty pence piece.” 

Draco frowned. “Those aren’t presents… well, I don’t know what a fifty pence piece is, but presumably it’s not a present?” 

Harry chuckled softly and shook his head. “No, it’s not really a present. It’s Muggle money, not worth much.” 

“Why did they even bother giving you anything?” Draco asked, making a face. “Surely it was pointless?” 

Harry shrugged again. “Appearances, I suppose. They wouldn’t want people to think they hadn’t got me anything.” 

“So… what about for your birthday?” Draco asked curiously. 

Harry shook his head. “Nothing then, either,” he said. “They gave me a tissue once. I suppose I should have been grateful that it wasn’t a _used_ tissue.” 

Draco made a face. “That’s horrible,” he said. “Did no-one notice anything?” 

Harry shook his head. “Not that I know of,” he said. “Like I said, they liked to keep up appearances, so they must have done a good job.” 

“It’s a shame they didn’t do a better job of actually caring for you,” Draco muttered, taking another sip of his hot chocolate. 

Harry gave him a sideways glance. “Careful, that was almost like concern…” 

Draco shrugged. “I’m a changed man,” he said without making eye contact with Harry. 

“Mm… so I can see,” Harry replied, sipping from his mug. 

Draco smiled to himself. He was surprised at how easy this conversation was, given that they were talking about fairly serious stuff.

Harry took another sip, a smile visible from around the mug. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the clock above the fire ticking. 

Harry drained his mug and set it down on the table. “I feel like an early night,” he said. “Tomorrow I’m going to have to do some of my actual work.” 

Draco nodded. “Yes, I have some research I really should get back to.” 

“Have you thought any more about whether you want a lab putting in?” Harry asked. 

Draco took a deep breath. “I think… I think that I need to give it serious consideration,” he admitted. “But I’d like to wait until we hear from Irwin Biscus first, I think.” 

“Okay,” Harry replied, nodding. “That makes sense. Just let me know and we can clear the space.” 

“I will,” Draco promised. “I’m ready to go up whenever you are.” 

“Let’s go,” Harry said, pushing the blanket away. He immediately shivered. “It’s cold without the blanket.” 

Draco slid out from under the blanket too and rubbed at his arm with one hand. “How is it cold when that fire is going?” he complained. 

“We must have just generated too much body heat under there,” Harry said. “Maybe.” 

“Maybe,” Draco nodded, standing up and stretching. 

Harry stood up, too, and ran one hand through his hair. “Kreacher, we’re going to bed,” he called.

***

They climbed the stairs and went straight to the bathroom, where they both managed to use the toilet without complaint.

Draco shook his head slightly, smiling as they took turns to wash their hands. “Do you ever stop and think about how domesticated we’ve become in just a couple of days?” 

“I do,” Harry said, nodding. “It’s a bit scary, but I actually really like having you here.” 

“I like being here,” Draco replied. “So far, anyway.” 

Harry grinned and headed for the door, Draco following behind. 

“My room again?” Harry asked, looking over his shoulder at Draco. 

Draco nodded. “Might as well,” he said. “Everything is in there.” 

Harry nodded too. “Alright,” he said, opening the door to his bedroom and making his way to the bed. 

“Ah…” Draco started. “We have a problem. Well, sort of. How are we supposed to get changed while maintaining contact with one another?” 

Harry stopped and looked back at him. “Oh. Good point. I don’t know.” 

Draco frowned. “Well this is going to be awkward.” 

“Do you think we could vanish our clothes?” Harry mused. 

“If we vanish our clothes, that’s _everything_ , Potter,” Draco said dryly. “Including underwear. I don’t know about you, but I am _not_ ready for _that_ step.” 

“Oh,” Harry flushed. “No. Definitely not ready for that.” 

Draco shook his head slightly. “So, any other ideas?” 

“Don’t you know any spells to get undressed?” Harry asked. 

Draco fixed Harry with a look. “And why would you think I’d know spells like that?” 

“I don’t know,” Harry shrugged. “You’re the one who grew up in a wizarding house, maybe your mum used some kind of spell to undress you when you were wriggling about.” 

Draco snorted. “Potter, I don’t even know where to begin with how wrong you are.” 

“Alright, alright,” Harry sighed. “Well, maybe, we help each other?” 

Draco stifled a groan. “You mean undress each other?” 

“It’s either that or we try and do it one-handed,” Harry sighed. “Which probably wouldn’t go too well.” 

Draco looked at Harry doubtfully. “Fine,” he said. “Come here and hold onto my waist while I undo your shirt buttons.” 

Harry moved closer to Draco, letting go of his hand and taking hold of his waist. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks as he realised this was far more intimate than he thought it would be. 

Draco coughed, averting his gaze slightly as he quickly undid Harry’s buttons. “Alright, you do me now,” he said, letting his hands rest on Harry’s waist. 

“Please,” Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. He lifted his hands and unfastened the buttons on Draco’s shirt. Undoing the last button, he lifted his hands again and pushed the fabric off Draco’s shoulders, frowning as it seemed to snag. “Of course your cuffs are done up,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes as he fumbled with the cuffs on Draco’s shirt. 

“Sorry,” Draco said softly and he shrugged the shirt off properly, letting it slip off one arm at a time, maintaining contact with Harry’s waist with the other hand. He could feel a blush settle on his cheeks as he lifted his free hand to help remove Harry’s shirt. His fingertips brushed against the scar on Harry’s shoulder as he pushed the shirt away. 

Harry looked away from Draco as he let the shirt fall to the ground. He swallowed as his hand hovered at Draco’s waistband. 

“I can do that,” Draco said, his voice slightly hoarse. 

“Oh… okay, if you’re sure,” Harry said, relief evident in his voice. 

Draco deftly unfastened the button on his trousers, dragging the zip down quickly to allow his trousers to fall away. He kicked them off, leaving himself standing in just his boxer shorts and socks. “Your turn.” 

Harry fumbled with the button on his jeans, eventually popping it open and sliding the zip down. He gave the denim a gentle push down over his hips, watching as the fabric pooled on the floor at his feet so that he could step out. 

Taking Harry’s hand again, Draco led him to the bed, leaving their clothes for Kreacher to take care of. 

“Did this just suddenly get real for you?” Harry asked as they sat on the edge of the bed to remove their socks. 

Draco nodded. “Yes. It did.” 

“Good. Just checking it’s not just me,” Harry said with a sigh of relief. He shifted backwards onto the bed with difficulty as one hand was still holding onto Draco’s. 

“Definitely not just you,” Draco replied, also climbing onto the bed properly. He frowned, as he, too, had difficulty due to holding Harry’s hand. 

Harry kicked at the duvet with one foot, trying to push it away so that they could climb in properly. 

Draco raised an eyebrow and sat forward slightly, using his free hand to lift his side of the duvet. 

“Oh shut it,” Harry sighed, despite Draco not uttering a word. He leant forward and lifted his own side of the duvet, sliding his legs underneath. 

“You’re _such_ a Gryffindor,” Draco replied, a hint of humour in his voice as he slid under the duvet too. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry asked, turning onto his side so that he could look at Draco. 

“Always using brute force to do something instead of thinking about it logically,” Draco said, mirroring Harry’s position.

“Well, why mess about when brute force would do the job quicker?” Harry asked, shrugging with one shoulder. “It just wastes time.” 

“Which of us lifted the duvet up quicker?” Draco asked, pointing out the obvious. 

“Shut up,” Harry said again, making a face. “It’s not like I’ve done this before.” 

“But surely you’ve got into bed before,” Draco pointed out, his eyebrow still raised. 

“I hope you’re not going to spend this whole marriage pointing out my shortcomings,” Harry grumbled, flopping onto his back again. 

“Not the _whole_ marriage,” Draco said, still lying on his side as he watched Harry. “But probably some of it.” 

“Great. Thanks for warning me,” Harry sighed. He rolled back onto his side and looked at Draco. “Do you think we can do this? I mean… _really_ do this?” 

“What do you mean?” Draco asked. “Without constantly arguing or…?” 

“No, not that. I know we’ll argue,” Harry said. “Of course we’ll argue. I mean… we’re not a conventional couple, are we? What if we meet someone we’re attracted to? Or someone we’d rather be married to?” 

“Potter, you said it yourself that you can’t picture yourself getting married,” Draco said. “Why worry now?” 

“I don’t know,” Harry sighed, looking down at their hands. “I suppose I hadn’t really thought it through before. What if I _do_ meet someone? It’s not on the cards at the minute, but… we’re only twenty. We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us.” 

Draco bit his lip gently. “Then we cross that bridge if we come to it,” he said. “I’m not… I wouldn’t keep you trapped in this marriage if you really didn’t want it.” 

“Same goes for you,” Harry said softly. “This is just… this because we have to do it. We have no choice. But do you think that the magic would allow us to get divorced in the future?” 

“I don’t know,” Draco said honestly. “We’d have to try and find out, I suppose. If we wanted to do it… can I be honest with you?”

“Please do,” Harry said, studying Draco’s face curiously. He couldn’t read him as well as he would like to be able to.

“It’s been so long since I had any sort of meaningful physical contact with anyone that… this isn’t the worst thing in the world for me,” Draco said softly. “Those experiences in France don’t really count. They didn’t mean anything.”

Harry swallowed and lifted his gaze to meet Draco’s. “I’ve been thinking the same,” he said softly. “It’s been… I’ve found it to be…” 

“Natural?” Draco supplied, almost hopefully. 

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “Like… this was always going to happen between us. Is that weird, given our history?” 

“Maybe a bit,” Draco said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “But I’ve thought the same as you. This feels _right_.” 

Harry held Draco’s gaze for a moment. “Do we… do we just let things happen then?” he asked hesitantly. “Like… do you think we could… fall in love?” 

“Maybe,” Draco whispered, his eyes searching Harry’s face for a few seconds before he brought his free hand up to rest on Harry’s cheek, fingertips trembling. 

Harry held his breath as Draco’s hand rested gently on his face, his stomach feeling like there were a million butterflies flapping around in there. For one, horrifying moment, he thought he was about to be sick. Then, he felt Draco’s lips on his and the butterflies exploded into life again as they shared a hesitant kiss. 

The kiss lasted less than ten seconds, but Harry was very much of the opinion that it was the best first kiss he’d ever had. He didn’t remember the butterflies from any of his previous first kisses at all. 

Draco pulled back with a soft gasp. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have… did you…”

Harry shook his head. “D-don’t apologise,” he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. “I wanted it too.”

Draco considered Harry’s words as he played the kiss back in his mind. He hadn’t known he was going to kiss Harry, but the overwhelming urge he’d felt had driven him to follow through with it. He acknowledged the part of his brain that was telling him it was fine, that Harry had been expecting it, but there was another, larger part of his brain telling him that he was wrong, that Harry Potter would never want an ex-Death Eater like him and he felt torn apart by the conflicting thoughts. It was only the magic that kept him from pulling his hand from Harry’s and running from the room. “How could you want me?” he whispered after a long moment of silence. “No-one wants me. Not anymore.” 

“Don’t,” Harry said in a harsh whisper, bringing his hand up now, to cup Draco’s cheek. He smoothed his thumb over the soft skin there as his eyes met Draco’s again. “Don’t think like that. You’re not that person.” 

“But I _was_ ,” Draco replied, all rational thought leaving him. “People will _always_ remember that time in my life. It won’t matter to them that I’ve changed.” 

“Then fuck them,” Harry whispered. “They don’t matter,” he added, shifting slightly. “ _This matters…_ ” he murmured as their lips met for a second time. This time, the kiss was less hesitant. 

As Draco kissed back, his eyes fluttered closed of their own accord. His stomach did a somersault at the tender, searching way that Harry kissed him and he allowed himself to think that maybe, just maybe, things could work out for the best. The anger he’d felt at being betrothed to Harry had long disappeared, but he’d still felt that any marriage between them would only be pretence. That feeling had disappeared the moment Harry kissed him. 

Parting for a second time, Draco didn’t dare open his eyes as he rested his forehead against Harry’s, feeling slightly breathless but in the best possible way. His hand, previously on Harry’s cheek, had moved down to press against Harry’s firm chest between them with their other hands still clasped together. As his thoughts began to form coherently once more, he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze met the sight of brilliant green eyes looking back at him from behind Harry’s glasses and he couldn’t help but smile.

Harry returned the smile lazily. His thoughts were all over the place, but one thing remained consistent - that first kiss was amazing. “I know this is cheesy,” he started. “But I’ve never had a first kiss that felt that good.” 

Draco snorted softly. “You’re right. That is cheesy,” he said. “But, for the record… neither have I. None have come close.” 

Harry laughed. “So… I guess we know now that this,” he broke off, gesturing between himself and Draco. “Could definitely work.” 

Draco nodded. “Yes,” he replied. “And I think that it’s important that we give it a proper go. I suppose it was inevitable that anything that happened between us would be less than conventional.” 

Harry nodded too. “Yeah, I don’t know why we would think otherwise, really,” he said. “Nothing we’ve ever done in the past has been conventional, so why would this be?” 

“Exactly. Although I don’t know what this means for Irwin Biscus…” Draco replied thoughtfully. 

“I think we should let him continue,” Harry said. “I don’t think that what just happened was because of the magic. We’ve been told plenty of times that there are no such things as spells to make people fall in love with you, so how could that magic have made us want to kiss each other?” 

Draco shook his head. “There are love potions, but they don’t result in actual love,” he said. “Don’t you remember Slughorn telling us that?” 

“I do,” Harry said. “I must have got it mixed up. That’s how Voldemort’s mother trapped his father into a relationship… but that’s what I mean. If we let him continue and he finds out that he _can_ remove the bonding spell, then we find out if this is real.” 

“Do you think it might not be?” Draco asked, worry creeping into his voice. It wasn’t often that he allowed anyone to get close to him in this way and he hoped he wasn’t about to regret letting Harry in. 

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “But I’m sure that a love spell wouldn’t create the butterflies I felt in my stomach when we kissed.” 

Draco’s lips twitched into a smile as he shook his head again. “I don’t think it would either.” 

“I’d still rather have the bonding spell removed if we can,” Harry said. “Because then there would be absolutely no doubt on either side.” 

“Good point,” Draco replied, nodding. “I think our friends would be happier if we had it removed too, don’t you?” 

Harry nodded. “I would think so,” he said. “Although they don’t really seem to have been too upset by it.” 

“No, not even Pansy,” Draco agreed. “Once we’d convinced her we weren’t lying, anyway.” 

Harry chuckled, before yawning widely. “You know what, today has been _confusing_.” 

“Yes, it has,” Draco said. “And I am more than ready to go to sleep now.” 

“Me too,” Harry said, shifting slightly so that he could remove his glasses. He reached over and placed them on his bedside table. 

Draco shifted so that he was lying more comfortably, making sure he still had some contact with Harry.

Harry moved closer to Draco but rolled onto his other side, pulling Draco’s arm over him. “More comfortable this way,” he mumbled, his cheeks reddening slightly. 

“Okay,” Draco whispered, feeling a blush rise on his own cheeks. He sensed a shift in their relationship as they laid still, their chests rising and falling in unison. He couldn’t help but smile as he drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies that this chapter is late - life happened! Hopefully it's worth the wait.

The next morning arrived sooner than Draco would have liked. He blinked his eyes open slowly, smiling as Harry’s mess of hair came into focus. He replayed the previous night’s events once more, finding it hard to believe that it had happened at all. He gave a contented sigh as he closed his eyes again.

Harry gave a soft groan as he rolled onto his back, pressing against Draco’s chest as he did so. “Morning.” 

“Morning,” Draco said softly. 

“Sleep well?” Harry asked, squinting at Draco slightly, trying to bring him into focus. 

“Very well,” Draco replied. “Maybe the best night’s sleep I’ve had since I’ve been here.” 

“Good,” Harry said. “Me too,” he added, rubbing one eye with the heel of his hand. 

“I think I could do with a shower,” Draco said, yawning. 

“Oh, you’re not ready to sleep naked, but you’re ready for us to shower together?” Harry asked, a smirk threatening to spill across his face. 

“Well, not really,” Draco replied, flushing. “But I _do_ need a shower. And until we get this magic removed, you will have to come with me.” 

“Ah, I know,” Harry sighed. “I’m only joking. We’ll manage somehow.” 

“Do you think we could put some sort of extension charm on the shower so that we can shower side by side?” Draco asked, rubbing his face with one hand. 

“Oh… maybe,” Harry nodded, sitting up slightly to grab his glasses from the table. “I didn’t think of that. That would make it easier. We only need our shoulders or arms to touch really, don’t we?” 

Draco nodded. “And that would be infinitely less awkward than washing each other’s backs,” he said pointedly. 

“Okay, that makes sense,” Harry nodded. “Come on then, up,” he added, nudging at Draco’s arm as he slid out of the bed.

Draco groaned softly as he followed. “I wish it were acceptable to stay in bed all day,” he muttered. “Especially when the bed is that cosy.” 

Harry grinned. “It is a comfortable bed, isn’t it?” 

“Almost as comfortable as Hogwarts beds,” Draco nodded, taking Harry’s hand as they made their way to the bathroom. “Do you know the extension charm?” 

“No, I was hoping you did,” Harry said, stopping and looking across at Draco. “Do you?”

Draco rolled his eyes but nodded. “Lucky for you, I do. I used it for my lab at home.” 

Harry grinned. “Oh good,” he said. “That’s something else we need to do today, make your lab.” 

Draco paused before nodding. “If you’re sure,” he said. “Won’t the third floor be needed?” 

Harry shook his head. “No,” he said. “I can assure you it won’t. The third floor would make a perfect lab for you.” 

Draco smiled. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re too generous?”

Harry made a face and put a hand on the door handle. “I’m not,” he said. “If you’re living here, you need your own space, too.” 

Draco smiled again. “I appreciate you making such a big change to the house.” 

Harry shrugged. “I haven’t stepped foot on the third floor in nearly two years,” he said. “Unless I want to just let it gather dust, we might as well change it to something we’ll get some use out of.” 

Draco nodded, giving Harry’s hand a slight squeeze. “Still. You don’t have to do this.” 

“I know,” Harry replied. “But, honestly, it’ll be no trouble. Well, it might be a bit of trouble to create, but once it’s here I’m sure it’ll be no trouble.” 

“You ramble a lot, do you know that?” Draco asked, giving Harry an amused look as they opened the bathroom door. 

“It has been said,” Harry nodded, grinning. 

Draco laughed, moving into the room to stand in front of the shower. “Alright, get your wand out,” he said, giving Harry a sideways glance. “And copy my wand movement. I don’t think you’ll need to say the incantation too, but if you do, it’s _Capacious Extremis_. We’ll need to duplicate the shower itself, I think.” 

Harry nodded, watching as Draco swished and swirled his wand through the air, before trying to copy the movement. “Is that it?” he asked, looking at Draco to gauge how well he’d done with the spell.

Draco nodded. “That looks good to me,” he said. “Alright, on three. One… two… _three_.” 

On Draco’s count, they both began to move their wands in unison. 

Harry watched as the shower cubicle began to shimmer as the magic took over. It didn’t look any bigger when they’d finished, other than the two shower heads, but that was the beauty of the charm. He looked at Draco, uncertain. “Is it done?” 

“Only one way to find out,” Draco replied, reaching out and pulling the cubicle door open. He stepped inside, followed by Harry, and broke into a grin. “I’d say we did it.” 

Harry grinned too. “This is brilliant,” he said. “This will make showering much easier. Close enough together to keep the magic happy but not so awkward that we can’t shower properly.” 

“Exactly,” Draco nodded, motioning for Harry to step back out of the cubicle. 

“I thought we were showering?” Harry asked in confusion as he stepped onto the bath mat that was laid outside the shower cubicle. 

“We are, but not in boxer shorts,” Draco pointed out as he hooked one thumb in the waistband of his boxers.

“Oh yeah,” Harry said, looking sheepish. He took hold of one side of his boxer shorts with his free hand. “Er, how can we do this?” 

Draco looked thoughtful. “Here, you get hold of mine with your thumb and I’ll get yours,” he said. “We’ll take them down together.” 

“Well that’s the weirdest thing I’ve heard you say,” Harry said, blinking. “But I don’t have any other ideas, I suppose.” 

“Exactly,” Draco said, edging one side of his own boxer shorts down over his hips. It was more difficult than he’d imagined; holding onto both pairs of shorts and trying to remove both pairs at the same time. 

Harry began to edge his boxer shorts down too and Draco could see him trying to keep his gaze averted as more skin was revealed. 

Beside him, Draco felt himself turning pink as he realised that he was undressing next to Harry for the first time. He still wasn’t sure how he was meant to feel about their whole relationship, given that they’d only had their first kiss the night before. He didn’t know if he should expect more kisses, or if he would be expected to give more kisses. 

“Okay, I’m ready,” Harry said, stepping out of his boxer shorts. 

“Me too,” Draco said as Harry’s words shook him out of his thoughts. He stepped out of his own boxers and moved towards the shower again, still holding onto Harry’s hand. 

Harry took a deep breath as he stepped into the shower behind Draco, gladly moving to one side so that they could shower properly. As they stepped up to where the shower units were, he let Draco’s hand drop, making sure their shoulders pressed together. “This is so weird,” he whispered, reaching out to turn the knob for hot water. 

“You’re telling me,” Draco muttered, doing the same. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as though it were trying to break free. Despite everything he’d told Harry about his dalliances in France, none of them had left him feeling like he did now. He looked around briefly, unsure really of where he should be looking. He was very aware that Harry was standing beside him completely naked and the temptation to look was great. “Looks like we’re sharing shower gel today. I’ve left mine out there.” 

Harry looked around at him before nodding. “Alright,” he said. “I think I can cope with that.” 

“Even if yours doesn’t smell quite as nice as mine,” Draco said teasingly. 

Harry laughed, ducking his head under the water before shaking it, sending water droplets flying in every direction. 

“Alright, alright, don’t try and drown me!” Draco spluttered, wiping at his face with one hand. 

Draco watched as Harry grinned and reached for the shower gel, squirting some into his hand before holding the bottle out to Draco. 

Draco took the offered bottle and also squirted a dollop into his hand. 

Side by side, they both turned their attention to the process of washing themselves thoroughly, trying to make sure their shoulders were touching at all times. As they washed their hair, a thought occurred to Harry. “I know we’ve figured this bit out, but… how are we meant to get ourselves dried? We won’t be able to use a towel properly.” 

“Drying spells, Potter,” Draco replied dryly, tipping his head back to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. “I’m sure you’d forget you were a wizard completely if I weren’t here.” 

“Oh… shut up,” Harry said, nudging Draco slightly with his shoulder. “I don’t usually use a drying spell because I _prefer_ to use a towel! Drying spells are not the same, I don’t care what you say.” 

Draco shook his head slightly. “I know they’re not, but they’re going to be the easiest thing to use at the minute,” he said. “As soon as we’re able to, we can use towels.” 

Harry sighed, closing his eyes and letting the water spill over his face, rinsing his hair in the process. “I suppose so,” he mumbled. 

Five minutes later, Harry reached out and turned his shower off, waiting for Draco to do the same. 

“Ready to get out?” Draco asked, as he also turned his shower off. “I’ll cast the drying spell when we’re out.” 

Harry nodded, turning carefully toward the cubicle door with Draco shuffling round after him. They made their way to the door cautiously, before stepping out onto the mat outside the door. 

Draco reached for his wand, immediately casting a drying and warming spell over them both. 

Harry looked at him in surprise as the warmth enveloped him. “Thanks,” he said softly, grabbing two towels for them both to wrap around their waists. 

“I thought the warming charm would come in handy,” Draco said, giving him a grateful smile as he took the towel. 

Harry nodded as he secured the towel around his waist. “It was much appreciated,” he said. “It gets quite chilly in here once you’re out of the shower.” 

“I think that’s just bathrooms in general,” Draco admitted as he secured his own towel. “I can’t wait for breakfast.” 

Harry chuckled. “Me neither,” he said. “Hopefully Kreacher will have heard the shower and started making it already. He usually does.” 

Draco nodded, rubbing his stomach lightly before reaching for Harry’s hand again. 

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand reflexively as they left the bathroom and headed for the bedroom again. “Do you want to get some clothes from your room first?” he asked. “Or get dressed in there before I do?” 

Draco nodded again. “Yes, please,” he said. “I’d quite like to wear something different today.” 

Harry chuckled and nodded. “Alright, we’ll do it that way,” he said as they came to Draco’s door. 

Draco pushed the door open and went to his trunk, pulling out some casual clothes. Then he grabbed some clean underwear and pulled it on under the towel, Harry’s hand on his shoulder instead of gripped in his own. He pulled the rest of his clothes on quickly and took Harry’s hand once more. “Right. Your turn.” 

Harry gave him an appraising sort of look before nodding. “Right. Yes,” he said. “Let’s go.” He led Draco out of the room and back to his own bedroom, where he proceeded to dress as quickly as he could.

***

Kreacher did, indeed, have breakfast ready for them as they entered the kitchen and they gratefully sat down to eat, pressing as close together as they could.

After they’d eaten, Harry stood up, holding his hand out to Draco. “Let’s go and sort your lab out,” he said. 

Draco nodded, standing up and taking Harry’s hand again. “Lead the way.” 

They headed back up the stairs, continuing up to the third floor. Harry took a deep breath as he stepped onto the landing. 

“We don’t have to do this now,” Draco said softly, recognising that coming up here was a step Harry hadn’t taken yet. 

“No time like the present,” Harry said firmly. “If I don’t do it now, I might change my mind and I don’t want to do that.” 

“This is the first time you’ve been up here in years,” Draco said. “How do you want to do it? Do you want to go through stuff first? I don’t feel comfortable just… vanishing things.” 

Harry shook his head. “I don’t think there’s much to go through,” he said. “Only old bits of furniture and things. No personal stuff.” 

“Are you sure? There’s none of Sirius’ things here?” Draco asked, carefully. 

Harry shook his head again. “No. I moved them all to my vault,” he said. “Anything that’s left, can go.” 

“I thought… nevermind,” Draco began before shaking his head. He didn’t want to argue with Harry. 

“I know I said I hadn’t sorted these rooms out,” Harry sighed. “And I haven’t, really. There were some more personal things of his in the lower floors that I put in my vault. I don’t think he had a lot of good memories of this house. Anything that meant anything to him was at my parents’ house, I think.” 

“Oh,” Draco said, his voice soft again. “I didn’t know.” 

“I know,” Harry said. “It’s okay. But I mean it when I say that whatever’s up here can go. If there are some of my school things here somewhere, I’ll keep those.” 

“I don’t need a massive lab, you know,” Draco said, turning to Harry again. “One of the rooms would be big enough. You could keep the other as a storage room.” 

Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Well, if you’re sure,” he said. “We can do that.” 

Draco nodded too. “I am,” he said. “As long as there’s room for a store cupboard, for ingredients, a bench and some shelving units, it should be plenty big enough. I can always put an extension charm on it too.” 

Harry chuckled. “Alright, let’s get to work then.” 

For the next three hours, they worked together, methodically moving through the room they’d chosen for the lab, vanishing anything that Harry didn’t want. He had come across a few things that looked like they could be kept, so they’d moved these into the other room until they had time to go through them properly. 

Harry kept to his word, vanishing most things but keeping a few old pieces of furniture that could be transfigured into storage units and tables. 

It was fairly slow going, seeing as they had to maintain contact with one another. Working hand in hand meant that there was always one of their wand hands out of action, so to make it fair, Harry insisted on swapping hands every so often. 

When the clock that Harry had transfigured struck one, Draco stretched his free arm above his head, groaning as he felt his back cracking. 

“Lunchtime already,” Harry sighed, also stretching. “I’m _starving_.” 

“Me too, actually,” Draco said. “Must be all this work we’ve done,” he added, looking around. 

Harry looked around too. The floor was now clear of all the piles of boxes that had previously occupied it, and in their place was a large, sturdy table. Around the edges of the room, they’d constructed shelving units and wide cabinets to house all of the potion making equipment and finished potions. “Just the protective charms to put in place now, I suppose,” he said. 

Draco nodded. “Those are probably the most important part,” he said. “It’s a bit different, having a potions lab in an upstairs room to having one in a basement room. The charms need to be stronger because the upstairs rooms aren’t, generally, as sturdy and robust as a basement.” 

Harry nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, that’s a good point,” he said. “But we’ll make it as safe as possible and I’m sure it’ll be fine. I mean, it’s not like you’re Seamus. I don’t remember you ever blowing a cauldron up in Potions.” 

Draco snorted. “Please. I don’t think I have _ever_ been unlucky enough to blow up a cauldron.” 

Harry grinned. “I don’t know how much of it was to do with luck,” he said. “He was quite skilled at blowing them up.” 

“He must have cost his mother a fortune,” Draco said, shaking his head as he looked around. “Let’s go and have lunch, then we can come back up and put the charms in place. Then we’ll have to go to the Manor to get all of my equipment. I would send for it, but some of it is quite delicate.” 

Harry nodded. “That sounds like a good plan for the afternoon. We can always bring back the more delicate stuff with us and send the rest on?” 

“Ah, yes,” Draco nodded too. “That’s an even better plan.” 

“It just makes sense,” Harry said. “Come on. What do you fancy for lunch?” 

“Sausage sandwiches,” Draco said, at once. “Maybe with a fried egg.” 

“Oh, that sounds amazing, actually,” Harry said, a slight groan escaping. “Let me just…” he broke off as he fumbled with his wand, wordlessly conjuring his Patronus and sending it down to Kreacher. 

Draco watched, speechless, as the stag cantered away. Then he turned to Harry again. “I don’t think I ever fully appreciated how amazing it is that you can do that.” 

“What? The Patronus?” Harry asked, remembering that it wasn’t something he’d learnt during regular lessons at school. 

Draco nodded. “I don’t think, well, I know that Mother can’t do that,” he said. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw you do it.” 

Harry snorted softly. “I’m not surprised, since it knocked you flying,” he said. “That was the first time I produced it outside of the classroom.” 

“Obviously I didn’t appreciate it at the time,” Draco said, thoughtfully as he leaned against the worktop where they were standing. “But now… it’s really amazing. I mean, it’s such advanced magic.” 

“I know,” Harry said, ducking his head slightly. “I begged Professor Lupin to teach me it. The Dementors were just… horrific. I think they were the worst thing I’d experienced up until that point.” 

“When they came aboard the train, everyone was terrified,” Draco said, nodding. “I know I teased you about it— something I feel awful about now, by the way— but I was petrified of them.” 

“Yeah, I heard about that,” Harry admitted, glancing at Draco before moving to stand next to him rather than opposite. He dropped Draco’s hand once their shoulders were pressed together. “George heard you mocking me and told us you’d ended up in their carriage.” 

Draco flushed slightly at the memory but nodded. “I did,” he said. “I didn’t know it was theirs, but I didn’t want to be in the corridor with those things.” 

“I don’t blame you,” Harry said, shaking his head. “They’re awful. I know that most people weren’t affected in the same way as I was back then, and probably wouldn’t understand _why_ I was so badly affected. I don’t think I fully understood at first. I thought I was, I don’t know, weaker than everyone else or something.” 

Draco frowned. “You aren’t weak,” he said. 

“No, I know, but at the time I _thought_ I was,” Harry said. “I was the only one who passed out, why wouldn’t I think it was because I was weaker?” 

“I suppose I see your point,” Draco nodded. “Back then, I did find it hilarious because, although I didn’t like them, I couldn’t see why anyone would pass out because of them.” 

“Exactly,” Harry said. “If I’d heard that _you’d_ passed out and I hadn’t, I would have found it hilarious too. But now we both know better.” 

“Good point,” Draco said. “During the war, I was terrified that he was going to bring them into the Manor. Between them and Greyback, I was a wreck.” 

“I can imagine,” Harry said, grasping Draco’s hand once more and taking a step away from the worktop. “Come on, we’d better get down for lunch. Do you think he would have dared bring them into the Manor?” 

Draco nodded, heading for the door. “I do,” he said. “He didn’t give two hoots what my father said. I think that my mother might have put her foot down though. A bit like Dumbledore did at school.” 

“Lucky for you, then,” Harry said. “It’d have been miserable if he’d brought them in. I, er, I could teach you how to produce a Patronus. If you want?” 

Draco gave him a shy smile. “I’d like that,” he said. “I like how useful they are. Protectors and messengers, what more could you want?” 

Harry chuckled. “Well, exactly,” he said. “Just let me know when you want to try.” 

Draco smiled again. “I will,” he said, as they reached the second floor. “I remember when you produced it during your O.W.L. exam too.” 

Harry grinned at the memory. “Yeah, I did,” he said. “To produce a Patronus, you need to think of a really happy memory, and when I did it during the O.W.L., I pictured Umbridge being fired.” 

Draco laughed. “Really?” 

Harry nodded as they started down the next flight of stairs. “Yeah,” he said. “I really loathed her after everything she did to me that year.” 

“I can’t say I blame you,” Draco said. “She really was vile to you. Even I thought that sometimes.”

“Yeah, right,” Harry said with a snort. 

“No, really, I did,” Draco said. “She was meant to be a teacher, yet she was perfectly fine with mutilating students? No. Even I couldn’t get on board with that method of teaching!” 

“It was barbaric,” Harry nodded. “I mean, I could handle it, but she was even doing it to first years!” 

“I still can’t believe no-one told another teacher about it,” Draco said, frowning as they reached the bottom floor of the house. “Why didn’t you?” 

“Stubbornness,” Harry shrugged. “I’d asked McGonagall to get her to change her mind about my week of detentions, and she refused. So... “ 

“You refused to go to her with anything else,” Draco finished, nodding in understanding. “Bloody Gryffindors. Always so stubborn. There _were_ other teachers, you know!” 

Harry sighed. “I know. But then they’d have told McGonagall, and I’d have heard it all again. So I didn’t.” 

Draco shook his head. “I don’t know why I’m surprised,” he said. “Are you still so stubborn?”

Harry paused, his hand on the door to the kitchen. “Sometimes,” he admitted, looking over his shoulder at Draco. “I can’t help it.” 

Draco met his gaze. “Hmm. Well. I’ll have to find some way of wearing you down then, won’t I?” 

Harry felt his stomach do another somersault at Draco’s words and his mouth felt suddenly dry. “I suppose you will.” 

Draco gave him a smile that was verging on a smirk. 

Harry felt his cheeks grow hot and he turned away, stumbling through the door and into the kitchen. 

“That smells fantastic, Kreacher,” Draco said, following Harry into the kitchen. 

“It really does,” Harry said, recovering from the past few minutes. “Is it nearly ready?” 

“Yes, Master Harry,” Kreacher replied, nodding so that his ears wobbled. “Just two minutes more.” 

Harry nodded, moving to the sink. “We need to wash our hands,” he said to Draco. 

Draco nodded too, moving with Harry. “You do yours first,” he said. “I’ll just hold onto your waist,” he added, letting go of Harry’s hand and sliding his arm around his waist instead. 

Harry felt a tingling feeling in his stomach as Draco’s arm appeared around his waist, and he smiled. This tingling feeling was certainly nothing like the tingling caused by the bonding magic, he thought. 

Draco rested his chin on Harry’s shoulder, watching as he soaped up his hands. “Sorry, is this okay?” 

“It’s fine,” Harry said softly. “It’s... nice.” 

Draco smiled. “Good,” he said. “I didn’t know if, well, I know we kissed last night but I’m not really sure what else is appropriate.” 

“Me neither,” Harry admitted, rinsing his hands and reaching for the towel. “I think we’re doing okay though. We know we need to keep contact with each other, so I think we’ve skipped pretty much every stage of a relationship anyway.” 

Draco chuckled softly. “True,” he said. “I didn’t think of it like that.” 

“We’ve definitely become very well acquainted over these last few days,” Harry said, turning his head to give Draco a smile. “Your turn,” he added, ducking out of Draco’s grip slightly and sliding his own arms around Draco’s waist. 

Draco nodded and stuck his hands under the running water, beginning to wash them. “We have,” he said. “Despite not really wanting to at the start.” 

“No, I felt the same,” Harry said. “I couldn’t think of anything worse than being married to you. But… actually spending time with you has helped change my mind.” 

Draco turned the tap off and picked the towel up. “Exactly what I was thinking,” he said. “I suppose it had to happen eventually. We never really got to know each other properly at school.” 

“No, we didn’t,” Harry agreed, allowing Draco to take his hand once more. “But since the war, those arguments we had as teenagers just seem so insignificant. Ultimately, we’ve ended up on the same side, and it must have happened for a reason.” 

“Young masters’ lunch is ready,” Kreacher interrupted, bowing low. 

“Thanks, Kreacher,” Harry said, leading Draco to the table to sit down. 

Draco smiled at the elf slightly. “Yes, thank you, Kreacher.” 

They sat down and began the awkward task of eating a sausage and egg sandwich with one hand. 

“Oh, for…” Harry muttered as a bit of sausage slid out from between the slices of bread. 

Draco snorted into his sandwich, before the same thing happened to him. 

“Ha! Karma,” Harry mumbled through a mouthful of bread. 

“Oh, shut it,” Draco said, mildly, picking the sausage up and shoving it back into the sandwich. “Whose idea was this again?”

“Yours,” Harry said, giving him a pointed look. “I mean, it was definitely a _good_ idea, it’s just… not the easiest thing in the world to eat one-handed.” 

“No,” Draco conceded. “I should have thought about it, really.” 

Harry shrugged. “Too late now,” he said. “It’s lovely all the same.” 

Draco nodded. “It is. We need to have these again when we have the use of both of our hands.” 

Harry grinned and took another bite of his sandwich.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh this chapter is so late! Life just loves dropping problems on us, doesn't it?  
> Here it is anyway, please enjoy!  
> All being well, the next chapter will still be posted on October 5th.

As they were finishing their sandwiches, the Floo chimed and they both looked up in surprise. 

“Who’s that?” Draco asked, immediately on guard. 

“I don’t know,” Harry said, frowning. “We’re not expecting anyone.” 

Within five seconds, their questions were answered as the familiar red hair of Ron appeared in the fireplace, followed by the rest of him. 

“Ron!” Harry exclaimed, relief evident in his voice. “We weren’t expecting you.” 

“Damn, have I missed lunch?” Ron asked, taking in their empty plates. 

“Yes,” Harry said, rolling his eyes. “What brings you here?” 

“I just thought I’d stop by and see how you’re getting on,” Ron replied, sitting down opposite them. “I haven’t seen you for a few days, that’s all.” 

“No, we’ve been rather busy,” Draco replied, dryly. 

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re still annoyed about me laughing at your pyjamas?” Ron asked, turning to look at Draco. 

“Well it wasn’t my favourite moment.” Draco replied, sniffing. 

Ron grinned. “Serves you right for wearing them,” he said. “Anyway, how are you both getting on?” 

Harry shook his head at them. “We’re… doing alright,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of talking.”

“Well, I have to say, I was quite glad to see you hadn’t murdered each other,” Ron said. “I wasn’t sure if you would have by now.” 

Harry shook his head again. “No,” he said. “Like I said, we’ve done a lot of talking and we’re doing our best to make this work.” 

Draco glanced at Harry out of the corner of his eye before nodding. “We’re still hoping for the magic to be removed, of course,” he said. “But the Curse Breaker we spoke to didn’t exactly fill us with confidence.” 

Ron frowned. “Why not? Aren’t they supposed to help with any kind of curse?” 

Harry sighed. “Yes, they are,” he said. “But when we went to see them, he didn’t give us the impression that he’s going to give our case his full attention.” 

“He barely even looked at us,” Draco added. “Not to mention we thought he was going to curse us himself.” 

“What?” Ron asked, sitting up a bit straighter. 

“He wanted to run a diagnostic spell,” Harry explained. “But instead of _asking_ us like any courteous person would, he just pointed his wand at us.” 

“It was not a nice feeling,” Draco said, giving a small shudder. 

Harry squeezed his hand. “It wasn’t.” 

“Well no, I can’t imagine it was,” Ron said, anger evident in his voice. “What the bloody hell was he thinking?”

“That he had an ex-Death Eater in front of him, probably,” Draco muttered, looking down at the table. 

Harry frowned but didn’t say anything and Draco knew that the silence meant he agreed that Draco was probably right. 

“That’s not an excuse,” Ron said. “I can’t claim that I’m your biggest fan, but I wouldn’t just pull my wand on you. Er, not anymore anyway.” 

“Thank you,” Draco replied. “I think.” 

Harry squeezed his hand again. “It’s a good thing,” he said. “There was a time when I would have pulled my wand on you too.” 

Draco glanced at Harry again, trying to suppress the smirk that was threatening to spill across his face. “I know there was.” 

He watched as Harry flushed slightly, knowing exactly what the smirk was for. 

“And I can’t promise I won’t do it again in the future,” Harry added. 

Draco met and held Harry’s gaze, leaving Ron to look between them in confusion. “I’ll remember that.” 

“I thought you were going to try and make this work?” Ron said, frowning in confusion.

“Oh, we are,” Harry said, nodding. “We are.” 

Draco smirked again. 

Ron glanced at them both again before shaking his head. “I have no idea what’s going on here,” he said. “But I’m glad you’re both coping. If you need anything from the Auror department, you’ll let me know won’t you?” 

Harry nodded again. “Of course we will,” he said. “Thank you. We appreciate that you’re willing to help us.” 

“Don’t be daft,” Ron said, looking at Harry as though he was mad. “Why wouldn’t I be willing to help you? You’re my best mate.” 

“I know,” Harry said, sighing. “I know, but still.” 

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to Ron with a sigh of his own. “What he means to say, Weasley, is that you’re not exactly my biggest fan.” 

Harry’s cheeks turned scarlet as he covered his face with his hands. 

Ron blinked at Draco, then started to laugh. “Malfoy, _you_ are the least of my worries,” he said. “If Harry wants to be married to you, then more fool him. From what I’ve seen of the two of you together, you’ve changed since school and if I’m honest, I haven’t got the energy to hate you anymore. But _I_ sure as hell wouldn’t want to be married to you… you look like you’d be high maintenance.” 

Draco’s mouth fell open as he gave Ron a look of disbelief. 

Harry slowly uncovered his face to stare at Ron. “Did you actually just say that?” 

Ron shrugged. “Is it not true? Even in casual clothes he looks posh.” 

Harry turned to Draco, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. 

“Don’t say a word, Potter,” Draco said, sniffing. “These _are_ casual clothes.” 

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Harry said, grinning. “I think I can handle a high maintenance Malfoy.” 

Ron made a face. “And on that note, I need to go,” he said. “Oh, Hermione told me to tell you she’ll be stopping by after work. She’s got something to tell you, I think,” he added as he stood up. 

“Oh, really?” Harry asked, surprised. “What about, do you know?” 

Ron shook his head. “She didn’t say,” he said. “But she’s had her head in books since you two got betrothed, so I’m willing to bet it has something to do with that. I’ve tried not to ask her about it in case she makes me read something.” 

Harry laughed again. “Fair enough,” he said. “Well, thanks for coming to see us. Tell Kingsley that I’ll have my paperwork done as soon as I can, but trying to do everything one-handed is a bit time consuming.” 

Ron nodded, picking up the container of Floo powder from the mantlepiece. “Will do. See you later,” he said, throwing a pinch of powder into the flames and stepping in after it. 

As the flames died back down, Harry turned to Draco again. “Well. That was a bit weird, wasn’t it?” 

“ _Weird_?” Draco exclaimed. “I don’t think I’ve ever had an encounter with Weasley that _wasn’t_ weird.” 

Harry laughed. “Well, maybe not,” he said. “Should we go and put those protective charms in place before anyone else turns up?” 

“Yes,” Draco replied, nodding. “I think that might be a good idea. Then we’ll be able to collect my supplies when we’re ready.” 

“Come on then,” Harry said, standing up and tugging on Draco’s hand to pull him to his feet.

“Do you think Granger will have found something that can help us?” Draco asked as they left the kitchen.

“I’m not sure,” Harry said. “Hopefully she will have. Knowing her, she really will have been looking into it every spare minute she’s had.” 

Draco nodded thoughtfully. “I can believe that,” he said, following Harry up the stairs. 

“I was thinking,” Harry said as they stepped onto the second flight of stairs. “Maybe we can start with the Patronus lessons later?” 

“After we’ve collected my equipment?” Draco asked. 

“Yeah,” Harry replied. “I’ll start with the basics, and it’s better to have short sessions anyway because it takes quite a lot of effort.” 

“It sounds intriguing,” Draco said. “It’s magic I’ve never even really looked into, because no-one ever told me about it.” 

“I don’t think that the people you were… involved with would really practice that kind of thing,” Harry said carefully. “Snape… I think he was an exception. His Patronus was, erm, it was a doe. Just like my mother’s.” 

Draco blinked. “What does that mean?” 

Harry took a deep breath. “A Patronus takes the shape of a spirit animal,” he said. “I think mine is a stag because my dad’s was a stag - like his Animagus form.” 

Draco frowned. “So people can have the same form?” 

“Yes, but usually people have a unique form,” Harry continued. “However, a Patronus’ form can change. We saw Tonks’ change years ago— before she and Lupin got together, her Patronus was a jackrabbit, but then she fell in love with him and it changed to a wolf.” 

“So… Snape’s Patronus was the same as your mum’s because…” Draco started slowly.

“Because he was in love with her, yes,” Harry finished, frowning slightly. “But he had been for a long time, so his Patronus was always a doe.” 

“Wow,” Draco said, blinking. “I didn’t know they could do that.” 

Harry nodded. “It’s definitely a unique piece of magic,” he said. “And you can see why not every wizard knows how to do it. Even Hermione had trouble with it at first, but she got there in the end.” 

“Granger had trouble with something?” Draco asked, his eyes lighting up. 

Harry chuckled. “Yes. She did have trouble with something,” he said. “But she did what Hermione does best and worked at it.” 

“Okay, so you definitely think I can do it too?” Draco asked, as they hit the third floor. 

“You can definitely do it,” Harry said. “I promise you. You just need to think of your happiest memory. It has to be a really strong memory.” 

“I’ll think of one while we work,” Draco promised, nodding and pushing open the door to the newly created potions lab. 

“Good,” Harry smiled. “Now, what kind of protection do we need to put in place here?” 

“I’ve got them written down,” Draco said, putting his free hand into his pocket and pulling out a piece of parchment. 

“Do you just carry that around with you?” Harry asked, blinking. 

“No, I picked it up when I was getting ready this morning,” Draco said. “I was using it as a bookmark.” 

“Oh,” Harry said. “Makes sense. Okay, let’s have a look then.” 

They both bent over the piece of parchment, studying the incantations that Draco had copied out, their shoulders pressed together comfortably. 

“Well, these don’t look too complicated on paper,” Harry said, glancing at Draco. “Are they complicated to perform?” 

Draco shook his head. “No,” he said. “They’re fairly easy to do, but provide a lot of protection.” 

“Alright, let’s get started,” Harry said, pulling his wand out. 

Draco took his wand out, too, taking one last glance at the parchment. “I think, if we stand back to back, we’ll be able to cast two spells at once,” he said. “If that’s okay?” 

Harry nodded. “Whatever you think,” he said. “Which one do you want me to take?” 

“You do that one,” Draco said, pointing to the second spell on the parchment. “It’s just a simple wand movement and the incantation is easily pronounced too.” 

“Are you saying I have a problem with pronouncing things?” Harry asked, a smirk threatening to spill across his face. 

Draco looked back at him with a deadpan expression. “Yes.” 

“Rude!” Harry said, the smirk turning into a laugh as he poked Draco in the side. “Right, let’s do this.” 

Draco grinned and turned away from Harry, making sure to keep contact with him while he did so. Being slightly taller, he was pleased to note that they fit together like a puzzle piece when standing back to back. 

Harry smiled and leant against Draco slightly as he raised his wand. He pictured the incantation in his mind before he began to recite it, moving his wand in the pattern that had been described on the parchment. 

Draco began to do the same, murmuring the incantation over and over again as he moved his wand in the pattern he knew so well. He’d performed these incantations several times now, having had to set up labs in different places since leaving school. He could sense that his magic was certainly compatible with Harry’s as they worked. He assumed that it must be to do with the bonding process.

***

Half an hour later, the protection charms were complete and Harry and Draco lowered their wands for the final time.

“Well, that took longer than I thought it would,” Harry said, tilting his head back slightly to rest against Draco’s shoulder. 

Draco smiled. “Yes, sometimes that happens,” he said. “I suppose it just depends on how strong we need the charms to be. I think these ones will be strong.” 

“I hope so,” Harry said, turning to stand beside Draco, pressing their shoulders together again. He let his free hand drop to meet Draco’s, where he ran his little finger along the side of Draco’s before linking their fingers together. 

Draco paused as Harry’s hand brushed his, smiling at the gentle, almost nervous, touch. He closed his eyes as their fingers linked together and Harry could feel his heartbeat speeding up a little as Draco turned his hand under Harry’s, lacing their fingers together properly. 

Harry turned fully now, facing Draco so that their chests were pressed together. He hesitantly brought his other hand up to cup the back of Draco’s neck. Tilting his head upwards slightly, he brought their lips together in a soft kiss, feeling the butterflies fluttering in his stomach once more. 

Draco returned the kiss, letting his free arm snake around Harry’s shoulders. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as the small thrill within him grew. 

“Sorry,” Harry said softly as they parted. “I couldn’t help it.”

“I don’t usually allow kissing in my lab,” Draco murmured, a smile on his face. “But I can make an exception.”

Harry chuckled. “I promise I won’t do that often,” he said. 

“I think we need to stop apologising for kissing each other,” Draco continued. “I’m quite sure if we get married, we need to stop worrying about it.”

“I know,” Harry said, nodding. “I’m just… it’s still a bit of a weird thought, don’t you think?”

Draco nodded too. “Yes,” he said. “I would never have expected this to happen. Even a few days ago, I’d have told you you were crazy.”

“I didn’t know what to say when Ron was here,” Harry admitted. “It’s not that I’m ashamed or anything, I’m just not sure how to break that news to him.”

“It’s alright,” Draco said. “I have no idea how I’ll tell Pansy. She’ll be fine with it, I’m sure, but…”

“It’s unexpected,” Harry finished. “I might just tell Hermione and let her tell Ron.”

Draco snorted. “Will she be alright with it?”

“Honestly? It’s none of their business, really,” Harry said. “But I think she’ll be ok about it. Things have changed since school, for all of us, so I can’t see why she wouldn’t get used to the idea.”

“Pansy will _make_ it her business,” Draco said warningly. “But I think she’ll come around quite quickly; she seemed to get on alright with Granger the other day which, by the way, is very dangerous for us both.”

Harry groaned softly. “Oh, I know,” he said. “I’m not sure we did the right thing there, inviting them all to dinner.”

“We’ll manage,” Draco said. “We‘ll just have to be careful.”

Harry nodded, resting his head on Draco’s shoulder for a moment before pulling away again. “Right, are you ready to start learning the Patronus charm?”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were going to collect my potions things first?”

“Oh, yeah,” Harry said, making a face at his mistake. “Sorry. Let’s go and do that.”

Draco chuckled softly. “It’s just that the sooner we get everything brought here, the sooner we can get to work.”

“I know,” Harry said. “I genuinely just forgot. Let’s go and use the Floo.”

“Hopefully, Mother will be home,” Draco said. “I feel like I need to tell her what we’ve decided.”

Harry nodded again. “It would probably be a good idea,” he said. “I got the feeling the other day that she was kind of hoping there’d be something between us.”

Draco stopped and looked at Harry curiously. “Really?”

Harry gave another nod. “Yeah, what with all her speeches about how we could be great together and stuff.”

Draco considered this for a moment. “You know, you might be right,” he said slowly. “She certainly wasn’t as opposed to the idea as I first was.” 

“What… the first day?” Harry asked, frowning. 

“Yes,” Draco said. “When I got back from the hospital, ranting about what we were told, she basically told me to stop being so dramatic and that it wouldn’t be so bad.” 

Harry laughed. “So even your mother gets fed up with your theatrics?” he asked, before quickly adding, “Which aren’t as bad as they used to be at school.” 

Draco frowned slightly, but then shook his head. He couldn’t argue. “Yes,” he said. “And her lack of empathy for our situation shocked me so much that I just couldn’t argue with her.” 

“Well, I suppose she had a point,” Harry said. “Having to get married to you wouldn’t have been the worst thing that’s ever happened to me, funnily enough.” 

“No, nor me,” Draco admitted, leading Harry by the hand towards the stairs. “Obviously I wasn’t thrilled a few days ago, but I’ve certainly warmed to the idea.” 

Harry grinned as they headed back along the landing to descend the stairs once more. “I think we’ve really grown as people over these last few days.” 

Draco snorted. “I’m sure we have. When we’re married, we’ll need to pick a bedroom, you know.” 

“Well, we’ll obviously have mine,” Harry said immediately, starting down the stairs. “It’s bigger.” 

“But what’s wrong with mine?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. “Is there a problem with it?” 

“No,” Harry said. “Just that it’s a bit smaller than my room. We might as well have the biggest room. We can redecorate if you really don’t like the colours.” 

“I suppose I have spent more time in your bed than the one you made up for me,” Draco said thoughtfully. “That does make sense.” 

“Exactly,” Harry said, a triumphant note evident in his voice. “Bigger is better.” 

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Is that something you live by, Potter?” 

Harry immediately flushed as he caught Draco’s meaning. “Er…” 

Draco gave a snort of laughter. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I don’t expect an answer to that.” 

“Good,” Harry muttered. “It’s not actually something I’d considered.” 

“Neither had I,” Draco replied quietly. “It wasn’t exactly my priority when I was in France.”

“No,” Harry said, nodding slightly. “It wasn’t mine either. I was just after, well, the same as you probably.” 

“Anything that would get me off quickly, no feelings involved,” Draco supplied. 

“Yeah,” Harry said quietly. “That’s about right.” 

“It was easier,” Draco continued as they headed along the second floor landing now. “Not getting attached meant I didn’t have to see any disappointment on their faces as they realised who I was.” 

“It must have been horrible for you, though,” Harry said softly. “No emotion involved, no feelings… did you ever want them?” 

“Of course I did,” Draco replied. “But I wasn’t stupid. I knew what would happen as soon as they got wind of who I was, and what I’d done. It was easier not having to deal with that, because it meant I could pretend.” 

“I wish things had been different for you,” Harry said sincerely. “You made mistakes, we’ve all done it. As soon as you were cleared by the trial, you should have been able to have a normal life.” 

“Life doesn’t work like that,” Draco said, wisely. “People like me will always be vilified, no matter how many years pass. All I can do is work to make people realise I’ve changed. I don’t particularly want to do that using _your_ name though.” 

“I know,” Harry said, sighing. “I suppose it’s inevitable, though. If we go through with the marriage — whether we have to or not — Hermione is right. The press will get hold of it. They’ll rake everything up again… are we prepared for that to happen?” 

“It won’t matter whether we’re prepared or not,” Draco sighed. “We’ll have to deal with it in a way that will lessen the chance of them bothering us again.” 

“I hate to break it to you, but I’m pretty sure that won’t happen,” Harry said, turning to look over his shoulder at Draco. “ _The Prophet_ still writes articles about me on a weekly basis at least. You’ve been out of the public eye for a while, so you’re safe at the minute, but as soon as they get wind that you’ve moved in here, you’ll be fair game in their eyes.” 

“And that’s when it’ll get interesting,” Draco replied, nodding. “How do you feel about actually doing an interview with them?” 

Harry frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not sure,” he said. “I definitely don’t want to be in a room with Rita Skeeter, but if they have another reporter, then… maybe.” 

“It doesn’t have to be _The Prophet_ , I suppose,” Draco said. “Pansy occasionally writes for _Witch Weekly_. We could give her an exclusive?” 

Harry slowed down slightly as he considered the idea. “That’s not a bad idea,” he said. “We’d have some control over what she wrote, wouldn’t we?” 

Draco nodded. “Yes. Certainly more than we’d have if we gave an interview to _The Prophet_ , anyway.” 

“Let’s do that instead then,” Harry said. “But not until after the wedding. That article that was in _The Prophet_ the other day seems to have been the only one so far. Hermione would have let us know if there’d been any others.” 

“I’ll owl her tomorrow,” Draco said, pushing open the kitchen door. “Tell her what we want to do.” 

“Fine by me,” Harry said, nodding. “Hopefully we’ll hear from Irwin Biscus before we get married anyway. We’re not doing the whole big wedding thing are we?” 

“Well, it would seem a bit strange if we did,” Draco said. “Given that this marriage isn’t really one that we have a choice in. I mean, it’s not that I wouldn’t want to marry you, but marriage after a month is not really my style.” 

Harry laughed. “Mine neither,” he said. “It’s a bit quick, isn’t it?” 

“A bit? It’s far too quick,” Draco replied. “If we’d been… involved at school, or even _friends_ at school, then it might be different. I mean, Granger and Weasley, I could see them getting married a month after finally starting a relationship, because they’ve practically always been in one. But you and I…” 

“I know,” Harry said. “I think the same. I’m quite alright with taking things slowly, even if we do have to get married within a month. That’s only to satisfy the magic, but it doesn’t mean we have to do everything a conventional married couple does.” 

Draco smiled and nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page. It’s a weird situation as it is.”

“Tell me about it,” Harry said, sighing. “Right, let’s get through to the Manor and get your stuff.” 

Draco reached out and took a handful of the Floo powder from the tin. “Malfoy Manor!” he said clearly, before they both stepped into the flames.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to [Kaiu](https://instagram.com/evil_socks_?igshid=1wezv0q0749kg) for looking over this chapter for me ❤️
> 
> I'm going to switch my posting schedule to Tuesdays as I have a regular commitment on Mondays that, prior to lockdown, was fortnightly but is now weekly which makes it awkward for me to post on time.

“Draco!” Narcissa exclaimed, dropping the scone she was eating in surprise as Draco and Harry stepped out of the fireplace in the kitchen of Malfoy Manor. 

“Mother, why are you eating in here?” Draco asked, brushing soot from his shirt. 

“I wanted some company,” Narcissa said, gesturing to the House Elf that was busy cleaning the oven. “It is rather lonely since you left, I must confess.” 

“I’m sorry,” Draco replied, moving to give her a kiss on the cheek. “You know I would have stayed if I could.” 

“I know,” Narcissa nodded. “I am considering a pet, now that you have moved out.” 

Draco blinked in surprise. “Oh. What kind of pet?” 

“I don’t know as yet,” Narcissa replied, finishing her scone. “I was thinking, perhaps, a crup. Or a cat.” 

“A crup?” Draco asked, making a face. “You’d need to walk it, wouldn’t it be a bother?” 

“I wouldn’t mind walking it,” Narcissa said. “And in any case, walks could be taken around the grounds, they’re large enough.” 

“Hmm. Well, if you insist,” Draco said, doubtfully. 

“I think a pet would be a good idea,” Harry said, speaking for the first time. “It’s been confirmed by Muggle scientists that pets are good for a person’s mental health. Er, not that I think there’s anything wrong with your mental health, Mrs Malfoy.”

Narcissa smiled. “Harry. It’s quite alright,” she said. “I understand what your point is. I think a pet would be good for me, Draco.” 

Draco frowned slightly. “Alright,” he said. “Well, if it’s what you want.”

“It is,” Narcissa replied firmly. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” 

“We’ve come to get my potions supplies,” Draco replied. “We’ve converted one of the third-floor rooms into a lab so that I can continue my work.”

“Oh, I see,” Narcissa said, a small smile crossing her lips. “That sounds like a permanent change.” 

“Yes. We decided that if we are to be married, I will need a lab,” Draco replied. “And as we are yet to hear from Irwin Biscus, we can only assume that we _are_ to be married.” 

“Very sensible,” Narcissa nodded. “And you are still getting along?” 

Harry glanced at Draco before nodding. “Yes, we are getting along. Very well, in fact.” 

Draco nodded too. “Yes. Mother, we have come to the conclusion that we... have a mutual attraction to each other.” 

“Oh, really?” Narcissa asked, schooling her face into a neutral expression. “And you are sure that this is not the result of the bonding spell?” 

Draco paused before answering, glancing at Harry and licking his lips. “Yes,” he said. “We’ve talked. We’ve both realised that there is enough of an attraction between us to make this work.” 

Narcissa considered what Draco had said before nodding. “Very well. I am pleased for you both,” she said, giving them a smile. “Is this public knowledge?” 

“No,” Harry said, shaking his head. “It’s a very recent realisation. You are the first person we’ve told. We’re going to try and keep things quiet for now, at least until we’ve heard back from Irwin Biscus. We don’t want the papers finding out that we’re living together.” 

“A sensible approach,” Narcissa said, nodding once more. “I will do my best to assist you. Now, do you need my help with getting your potions supplies back to Grimmauld Place?” 

Draco shook his head. “No, thank you,” he said. “We’ll be able to manage it between ourselves.” 

“Alright then,” Narcissa said. “I shall leave you to it. Don’t leave without saying goodbye, will you?” 

“Of course not,” Draco replied, kissing her on the cheek once more. “Thank you for everything.”

***

An hour and a half later, Harry slumped against Draco on the couch in the living room. It had taken much longer than either of them had expected to move all of Draco’s potions equipment into the new lab and Harry was sure he’d pulled a muscle while lifting a brass cauldron onto one of the benches. It had caused Draco to tut loudly and reprimand him for doing it the Muggle way.

“Do you know any muscle repairing spells? Harry asked plaintively, craning his neck to look up awkwardly at Draco. 

“I do,” Draco replied. “But I know a far more effective—and enjoyable—way of sorting it.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked warily. 

“Massage,” Draco replied quietly, a faint blush colouring his cheeks. 

Harry swallowed. “M-massage?”

Draco nodded. “I have a salve that works much quicker than a spell,” he said. “And the best way to apply it is through massage.”

“And you’ve, er, you’ve got that salve with you, have you?” Harry asked, feeling heat rising up his neck at the thought of Draco giving him a massage. He wasn’t sure why he felt so nervous, considering they’d showered together that morning. 

Draco nodded again. “Yes,” he said softly. “It was with the supplies we just brought back. Do you want to try it?” 

Harry swallowed again but nodded. “Yes please,” he replied, his voice slightly hoarse. 

Draco sat up and pulled out his wand. “Accio muscle salve,” he said, gesturing with his wand towards the door. After a few seconds, he was snatching the small jar out of the air. He turned to Harry. “Shirt off and on your front.”

Harry blinked but removed his shirt obediently, wincing as his back protested violently. “On here or the floor?” he asked through a grimace. 

Draco considered the question and held out a hand to Harry. “Floor would probably be better,” he admitted. 

Harry allowed Draco to help him up and onto the floor. He laid down carefully, resting his chin on his folded arms. 

Harry felt Draco’s foot keeping contact against his leg as he lowered himself down until he was straddling Harry’s thighs. “It’ll be warm,” he said, removing the lid from the jar. “Just so you know.”

“Okay,” Harry whispered, nodding. He could feel every hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Draco’s weight on his legs felt strange, but not unwelcome. 

“Here goes,” Draco said softly, bringing his hands into contact with Harry’s lower back. 

Harry gasped at the heat of the salve, resisting the urge to twist his head round to look at Draco. 

“Okay?” Draco asked, his hands immediately stilling. 

“Yeah, sorry,” Harry said. “I know you said it would be warm, but it was still a surprise.” 

“Ah,” Draco replied, giving Harry a nod that went unseen. “It can have that effect,” he added, beginning to move his hands, carefully massaging the salve into Harry’s skin. 

Harry gave a small whimper as he felt the heat of the salve penetrating his skin and warming his muscles up from the inside. 

“Sorry,” Draco whispered, his thumbs moving in circles of opposite directions as they worked on loosening any tightness that they came across. 

“‘S’ok,” Harry mumbled, pressing his forehead into his hands. “‘S’nice.” 

Draco smiled and continued kneading Harry’s back gently.

Harry closed his eyes, letting the feeling of Draco’s hands on his skin wash over him. It was intimate, but not as sensual as he’d thought it might be. He couldn’t help the sigh of contentment that escaped his lips. 

Draco studied the muscles in Harry’s back as he worked, mapped every little freckle and mark on his skin. The scar on Harry’s left shoulder from the dragon in fourth year stood out, stark red against the pale skin surrounding it. 

They were both so engrossed in the massage that they didn’t hear the Floo chime or the footsteps approaching the lounge. 

“Oh!” Hermione gasped softly as she entered the room. Her cheeks tinted pink as she took in the scene in front of her. “Sorry…”

Harry’s eyes snapped open and he looked up in surprise. “Hermione! It’s… I pulled a muscle.”

Draco paused, his hands still on Harry’s back. “I have a salve that repairs muscles,” he explained. “It has to be massaged in.”

“I-I see,” Hermione said, looking down at the carpet in front of her. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. Ron said he told you I’d be coming…”

“He did, he did,” Harry said. “We just didn’t realise the time and… well, nothing’s going on!”

Draco rolled his eyes and rubbed Harry’s back once more. “Does it feel better?”

“It does, actually,” Harry said, turning his head to look at Draco over his shoulder. “You weren’t wrong about the salve.”

“I know I wasn’t,” Draco replied. “I invented it. I just need to get it approved by the relevant authorities and then I can market it.”

“You invented it?” Harry asked, half rolling over underneath Draco so that he could look at him properly.

Draco blinked in surprise but nodded. “It’s what I do, Potter,” he said. “Improve existing potions and invent new ones.”

“Oh,” Harry said thoughtfully. 

Hermione cleared her throat, still looking pointedly at the carpet. 

“Ah… help me up?” Harry asked Draco, suddenly realising that he was half-naked and still lying under the man he had only been betrothed to for a few days. 

“Oh. Yes, sorry,” Draco replied, shifting backwards and holding a hand out to Harry. 

Harry took it and allowed Draco to pull him to his feet. He twisted slightly, testing his back. “That’s amazing… it’s not even a little bit sore anymore.” 

Draco smiled and nodded. “I told you it would work,” he said. “Here,” he added, holding Harry’s shirt out to him. 

“Oh, thanks,” Harry replied, taking it and struggling to put it on one-handed. 

Draco took pity on him and helped tug the shirt over Harry’s head, switching which hands they held. 

A few seconds later, they faced Hermione again. 

“Sorry about that, Hermione,” Harry said, giving her a sheepish smile. 

Hermione shook her head. “It’s quite alright,” she said, moving to sit down now. “I just didn’t expect to find you doing… that. How exactly did you pull a muscle?” 

Draco snorted. “Go on. Tell her.” 

Harry tutted slightly. “I moved his brass cauldron,” he said. “With one hand.”

“Oh for crying out loud, Harry!” Hermione exclaimed. “Why would you do that?” 

“Because I just didn’t think, that’s why!” Harry replied. “Don’t you start, he’s already given me a hard time about it!” 

“Well,” Hermione huffed. “I should think so. At least one of you has brains.” 

Draco gave Harry a smug smile. 

“Oh, stop it,” Harry muttered, prodding Draco with his free hand. “What did you want to tell us Hermione?” 

“Right. Yes,” Hermione said, opening her bag. “I’ve been reading up on bonding magic. There are some very frightening cases out there you know.” 

Draco nodded. “Blaise said that. He’s dealt with a lot of them at work.” 

“Yes, I’ve actually met with him a couple more times too,” Hermione said. “He said to let you know he’s sorry he hasn’t been of more help, but he hasn’t been able to find anything more than he told you last time.” 

Draco nodded again, disappointment evident on his face. “I thought that must be the case,” he said. “He’d have been in touch if he’d found something.” 

Hermione gave them both a sympathetic look. “I don’t know if you’ll find what I’ve got helpful or not,” she said. “But I thought it was interesting. I came across a case of a couple who claimed to have not been aware of the bonding spell that they stumbled across. They ended up happily married, but they tried quite a lot of things to remove the magic first.” 

“Did they find anything?” Harry asked, his interest piqued. 

“No, unfortunately not,” Hermione said, shaking her head. “The husband ended up in St. Mungo’s with horrific burns after they tried a counter curse that someone gave them down Knockturn Alley.” 

Draco snorted. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “You’d have to be out of your mind to trust anything from that street. I would know.” 

Harry nodded too. “Yeah, I didn’t enjoy either of my visits to Knockturn,” he said. “Borgin and Burkes was not a nice place.” 

Draco shook his head. “Tell me about it.” 

Harry squeezed his hand gently.

“So, as I was saying,” Hermione said. “They did go to the Curse Breakers just before they married, but by the time they got seen, the bonding spell had actually fizzled out. It wasn’t strong enough, but they’d fallen in love anyway.” 

Harry glanced at Draco before looking back at Hermione. “What are you trying to say, Hermione?” 

“That, maybe… maybe you won’t need to have the curse removed after all,” Hermione said carefully. “Maybe it’ll just… go away on it’s own.” 

Harry blinked at her. “Hermione… since when did _you_ believe in things just… going away?” 

Hermione sighed. “I don’t,” she said. “I’ve tried really hard to find something to help you, Harry, but I’ve failed. I’ve never failed before.” 

Harry shook his head. “It’s okay,” he said. “We didn’t have much hope of finding anything to help. Not when it seems the curse is a Black invention.” 

“Ah,” Hermione said, looking stricken. “So I suppose you’ve still not heard anything back from the Curse Breakers yourselves?” 

Harry shook his head and then looked at Draco for a moment. He took a deep breath. “Hermione… I need to tell you something,” he said hesitantly. “ _We_ need to tell you something.” 

Hermione looked at him worriedly. “What is it?” 

“We’re… we had a talk last night,” Harry said slowly. “We’ve realised that… we actually quite like each other and…” 

“And we want to make a proper go of this,” Draco finished, glancing at Harry.

Hermione gazed at them both open-mouthed. “You mean…” 

Harry nodded. “Yes,” he said. “But keep it quiet. I mean, you can tell Ron. I didn’t know how to break it to him this morning. But we don’t want The Prophet getting wind of this yet. Mrs Malfoy knows too.” 

Hermione blinked, her eyes suddenly looking very glassy. “Oh, Harry,” she said in a hushed voice. “I didn’t… Are you both sure?” 

Harry looked at Draco and smiled, before turning to Hermione and nodding. “Absolutely,” he said. “We’re still going to try and get the curse removed, but over the last few days, we’ve realised that we actually don’t mind the idea of being married.” 

“Are you sure it’s not just the magic that’s making you feel that way though?” Hermione asked. “If it’s a Black invention, it might have been made to influence people’s emotions?” 

Draco shook his head. “It’s not possible,” he said. “No magic can force people’s feelings to change.” 

“But couldn’t your grandparents have been capable of coming up with something that _could_ influence feelings?” 

Draco considered this for a moment. “Well, I suppose they could have been,” he said. “But I don’t think the magic would be so innocent in it’s actions if they had done that. So far, the worst we’ve experienced is a bit of tingling and burning pain. I would imagine that if my grandparents wanted feelings to be forcefully changed, it would be a much more horrific experience.” 

Hermione looked sceptical and turned to Harry. “Harry?” 

Harry bit his lip. “I think Draco’s right,” he said quietly. “I think we’d feel it if it was evil magic. It doesn’t even feel intrusive to me.” 

Hermione nodded, an expression of understanding appearing on her face. “I suppose that you, of all people, would know if the magic was evil in nature.” 

Harry nodded too. “I would,” he said. “Honestly, Hermione, I know how I feel. And, right now, I feel that I want to give this— _us_ — a chance.” 

“So do I,” Draco added in a soft voice. “I’m going to tell Pansy and Blaise next time we see them too. We’ve got a month before we absolutely will have to get married, so there’s every chance that Irwin Biscus will come through for us and we can give this a go without there being any doubt that it’s because of the curse.” 

Hermione listened to them both and nodded again, giving them a smile. “It sounds like you’ve at least thought about it.” 

“We have,” Harry said. “We’re not going into this lightly.” 

“Then I’m happy for you,” Hermione said, smiling again. “As long as you’re happy, you have my support.” 

Harry smiled with relief. “Thank you,” he said. “Please don’t let Ron overreact.” 

Hermione gave a snort. “I’ll try,” she said. “You know what he’s like though.” 

Harry nodded, looking slightly pained. “That’s why I said it.” 

Hermione chuckled. “Well. Since you didn’t really need the information I brought, I’d better get going. I have an early meeting tomorrow so I’ll need to get an early night.” 

Harry smiled. “We do appreciate you coming over though,” he said. “Sorry you had to wait for us to finish with the massage.” 

“Well, I must admit it was a bit of a surprise,” Hermione said. “But I suppose it wasn’t too scary a sight.” 

“I don’t know if I should be insulted by that or not,” Harry said, giving her a bemused look. 

“Just a friendly comment,” Hermione said, winking at him. 

Draco leant in close to Harry. “I didn’t think it was a scary sight,” he whispered in Harry’s ear.

Harry felt a blush begin to creep up from his neck and he could tell by the look on Draco’s face that he was delighted by the sight. 

“And that is my cue to leave, I think,” Hermione said diplomatically. “Good luck with the Curse Breakers! And with telling Pansy and Blaise your news.” 

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, his cheeks still red. “We’ll see you out,” he added, tugging on Draco’s hand as he stood up. 

The two of them followed Hermione to the kitchen where they watched her step into the fireplace.

***

After they’d eaten dinner, Harry looked at Draco. “Still want to have a go at learning the Patronus charm?”

Draco nodded. “If you think I can do it while I’m holding your hand.” 

“We should be able to,” Harry said. “You only need to be able to wave your wand, so what we can do is, I’ll show you the wand movement first then swap and hold your left hand so your wand hand is free.” 

“Sounds like a good plan,” Draco said. “Where should we do it?” 

“Lounge,” Harry said. “It’ll be better to be in a comfortable room.” 

“Alright,” Draco nodded. “Let’s go. I really want to learn this.” 

Harry smiled and stood up, waiting for Draco to join him. Then they made their way into the lounge where Harry waved his wand at the sofas, so that they made a space in the centre of the room. Then he looked at Draco. 

“Okay, so this is the wand movement,” he said, moving his wand in a circular motion, swirling it round. 

Draco watched and nodded. “Alright,” he said. “That looks easy enough.” 

Harry took Draco’s left hand and dropped his right one so that Draco could retrieve his wand from his pocket. 

Draco took a breath and began to move his wand, trying to copy the movement that Harry had made. 

“Make it a bit more circular,” Harry said, watching carefully. 

“Like this?” Draco repeated the movement, this time making a more defined circle in the air. 

“Yeah,” Harry nodded. “That’s better.” 

Draco repeated the motion once more before nodding to himself. “Okay, what next?” 

“The incantation,” Harry said. “It’s _Expecto Patronum_ , but before you say it you need your happiest memory and you need to really let it fill you up. Have you got a memory?” 

Draco hesitated for a moment but then nodded. “I think so,” he said. “Do I need to tell you what it is?” 

Harry shook his head. “No,” he said. “It’s a private thing. As long as you’re thinking about it, the incantation will work.” 

“Okay,” Draco said, nodding again. “So… _Expecto Patronum_?” 

“Yeah,” Harry said. “Give it a go.” 

Draco took another deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, the determined look on his face was obvious. Slowly, Draco moved his wand again. “ _Expecto Patronum!_ ”

Harry bit his lip as he watched on and then smiled as a tiny wisp of silver burst from Draco’s wand.

Draco frowned. “I thought it would be bigger. Surely that’s not it?” he asked, turning to Harry, who shook his head immediately. 

“No, definitely not,” he said. “That’s a really good start. I didn’t manage much my first go either.” 

“So there is hope for me, then?” Draco asked, a hint of a smile on his lips. 

“There’s definitely hope,” Harry chuckled. “Do you want to have another go?” 

Draco nodded, his face taking on the determined look once more. He cleared his throat and repeated the wand movement once more. “ _Expecto Patronum!_ ”

This time, Harry saw a significantly clearer wisp of silver vapour appear and linger for a moment before disappearing. “Hey, well done!” 

“I hope you’re not just humouring me, Potter,” Draco said, though he couldn’t hide his delight. 

“Would I do such a thing?” Harry asked with a laugh. 

“Well, I don’t know,” Draco replied. “You might if you thought I’d be upset with such small progress.” 

Harry shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. That really was good. It’s a tricky charm to master.” 

Draco smiled and squeezed Harry’s hand. “Then I’m pleased with it.” 

“Let’s leave it there for now,” Harry said. “We don’t want to overdo it.” 

Draco nodded. “Alright,” he said. “What should we do now?”

“I’m alright with an early night, to be honest,” Harry said. “We’ve done a lot today and that pulled muscle just topped it all off.”

Draco chuckled. “Sounds good to me,” he said. “I’ll owl Pansy first thing in the morning.”

“Come on then,” Harry said, turning towards the door. “I’d be willing to bet that we’ll get an early morning visit from Ron tomorrow too.”

“Do you think he’ll be angry?” Draco asked, following Harry from the room. 

Harry shook his head. “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “I know we didn’t tell him this morning, but I think he might have guessed to be honest. We weren’t being exactly subtle.”

“No, but then again, I’ve never thought him to be the most observant,” Draco replied.

Harry laughed. “Well, no, he’s not. But sometimes he can surprise me.” 

“Fair enough,” Draco said, nodding. “I suppose everyone is capable of being surprising.” 

Harry grinned and nodded too. “Exactly,” he said. “Most people love surprises.” 

“It depends on what the surprise is, I suppose,” Draco replied carefully. “Some surprises are not wanted.” 

“Hmm. Good point,” Harry said, continuing down the landing and into the bathroom. “I didn’t think of it like that.” 

“Really? I would have thought that you, of all people, would have had more unwanted surprises than most,” Draco said, looking at Harry curiously. 

Harry frowned but then nodded slowly. “Yeah… I suppose that makes sense,” he said softly. “I mean, the surprise of being told I’m a wizard was a nice one. The surprise of a lunatic trying to kill me as a baby, not so much.”

Draco gave a wry smile as he busied himself with the toilet. “See. That was definitely an unwanted surprise.” 

Harry laughed. “It certainly was,” he said thoughtfully. “I think you’re right, actually. I’ve had a lot more unwanted surprises than welcome ones…” 

“This betrothal was an unwanted surprise really,” Draco continued. “But, it’s definitely a nice one now.” 

Harry smiled and nodded again. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s still kind of unwanted, but not in the same way.” 

“Exactly,” Draco said as he finished and flushed the toilet. “It’s inconvenient, but… in a way, I suppose it has helped us figure out some feelings.” 

“Yes, definitely,” Harry replied, as they swapped places so that he could use the toilet while Draco washed his hands. 

“It’s funny,” Draco said, gazing in the direction of the cabinet above the sink. “When I came back from France, the last person I imagined myself running into was you. I thought you’d be long gone, living the high life after saving the world.” 

Harry snorted softly. “No thanks,” he said. “I wanted to make a difference, but I never wanted the fame bit. I knew it was too much to hope for, really, that I would fade into obscurity but I never stopped hoping.” 

Draco gave him a wistful smile in the mirror. “If only,” he said. “I would have given anything to fade into obscurity after my last couple of years at Hogwarts. Being in France did help a bit, but I knew it would be a different story once I was back.”

Harry flushed the toilet and turned to wash his hands too. “Really?” he asked. “Before the photograph of us the other day, I can’t remember the last time I saw your name in the papers.” 

“It has been there,” Draco replied. “I’ve not done anything to be considered big news anymore, but there’s been the odd mention. Mostly to do with my business, and a lot of interest every time I left the manor, though admittedly most of my appearances didn’t make the papers because they were mundane. I was going for a walk around the park alone or picking up something for Mother, you know, those kinds of things?” 

Harry nodded, leading Draco from the bathroom again. “Yeah, I think I do,” he said. 

“The mentions of me would have been missed if you weren’t looking for them,” Draco said. “I only saw them because I became paranoid about having my business bad-mouthed. Thankfully, most of my clients were gained because they used the products without my name being attached first and then stayed loyal once they found out I was behind the miracle potions and salves. Not even Rita Skeeter could put them off once they’d experienced the success they’d had.” 

“I have to admit that I didn’t exactly scour the papers for any mention of you,” Harry said. “I tried so hard to move on from following you around everywhere.” 

Draco snorted and looked at Harry sideways. “That worked out for you, didn’t it?” 

Harry laughed. “Well, yeah, not quite as well as I’d thought,” he said. 

Draco grinned as they entered the bedroom. “At least we’re not trying to kill each other anymore,” he said. “This is a much more enjoyable pursuit.” 

Harry couldn’t help but grin too. “You can say that again,” he said. “Come on, let’s get into bed.” 

Draco nodded. “Sounds like a plan,” he said. 

Harry chuckled and began trying to tug his shirt off over his head with one hand, then he groaned. “This bit will never stop being bloody awkward,” he grumbled. 

“Need a hand?” Draco asked, a hint of amusement in his voice as Harry got his head stuck.

“Please,” Harry replied, his voice muffled by his shirt as his shoulders slumped in defeat. 

Draco took hold of the bottom of the shirt and began trying to manoeuvre it over Harry’s head. “Well at least try and help me,” he said. “Pull your head out.” 

“I’m trying,” Harry moaned. “It’s trapped under my ears.” 

Draco tutted and moved his hand to pull the shirt free of Harry’s ears. “Better?” 

“Much,” Harry said, pulling his head out of the shirt, followed by his arms one at a time. “Thanks.” 

“No problem,” Draco said, handing the shirt to Harry with a smile. “You might want to consider button-down shirts while we’re stuck together though. Much easier to take off.” 

“They might be, but I do not suit button-down shirts half as well as you do,” Harry laughed, throwing the shirt into the dirty washing basket. 

Draco raised an eyebrow as he started unbuttoning his shirt. “Oh really?” 

“Really,” Harry replied with a nod, his eyes drifting downward to watch Draco undo the buttons. “You always look good no matter what you’re wearing.” 

“Well, thank you, Potter,” Draco replied with a smile. “I think it’s part of being a Malfoy, if I’m honest.”

Harry chuckled, undoing his trousers and shimmying out of them. “You’re probably right,” he said. “I’m not complaining though. Maybe you’ll have some kind of influence on me.” 

“I’ve just tried with the button-down shirt comment,” Draco pointed out as he slipped his own trousers off. “And you refused!” 

“I didn’t _refuse_ ,” Harry protested. “I just said I don’t look half as good in them as you do!” 

“Then we’ll see about that tomorrow,” Draco said. “You’ll soon see that I’m right.” 

“Hmm, maybe,” Harry said with a smile. “Are you ready to sleep now?” 

Draco nodded. “I can’t be bothered to mess around with my pyjama bottoms tonight,” he said. “Besides, if Weasley does happen to call in tomorrow morning while we’re still half asleep, it’ll be funnier if I’m in my boxers too.” 

Harry rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hide his smile. “You are terrible,” he said. “Get in then,” he added, pulling up the duvet and sliding into bed. 

Draco grinned. “I try,” he said, following Harry into bed. “Do you want to read tonight or try to sleep straight away?” 

“Try to sleep I think,” Harry said. “The earlier we go to sleep, the earlier we can get to work tomorrow.” 

Draco nodded, shifting so that he could lie comfortably on his side with Harry’s back pressed against his chest. “Fair enough. Good night, Potter.” 

“Good night, Malfoy,” Harry replied, removing his glasses and putting them on the bedside table and turning off the lamp. The weight of Draco’s arm across his waist was comforting as he closed his eyes.

Having had such an eventful day, tiredness soon consumed them and they both drifted off to sleep quickly.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Ron did turn up the next morning and, as Draco predicted, turned scarlet at the sight of Harry and Draco sitting in the kitchen together in just their boxer shorts. 

Draco took great delight in embarrassing Ron until Harry took pity and told him to stop. 

They spent the morning in the lab. Draco worked on the potions he’d begun at Malfoy Manor prior to being struck by the curse and Harry worked next to him, filling in paperwork by using a quill that was charmed to take notes, which enabled him to keep physical contact with Draco the whole time. It had taken them a while to work out that it was easiest to just keep holding hands whilst they worked, after trying multiple positions and feeling the tingle of the magic when they accidentally moved apart. 

Several times Harry apologised to Draco for having to talk aloud while filling in the paperwork, and each time Draco told him to stop worrying, that it couldn’t be helped. 

“I know, but I’m sure it must be annoying to have someone wittering on without actually talking to you,” Harry said. “We’ll have to see if there’s some kind of spell that I can do that will allow me to dictate without bothering you.” 

“You’re not bothering me,” Draco said for the fifth time. “I can tune things out quite well, you know.” 

“Good to know,” Harry said dryly. 

“Indeed,” Draco replied, flashing Harry a grin. “But, if it will make you feel better, we can look for a spell. I assume you don’t just want to use a Muffliato?” 

Harry shook his head. “No,” he said. “I think we need a spell that will allow me to ramble without you hearing but that will also allow us to talk to each other.” 

“Hmm,” Draco mused, before nodding. “Yes, I see your point. There must be something.” 

“We’ll look later then,” Harry said. “It’s lunchtime, anyway. Did you owl Pansy earlier on?” 

“Oh, no,” Draco said. “I’ll do it while we’re eating. Or, you know, before.” 

Harry nodded again. “Righto,” he said. “I asked Kreacher to do us some sandwiches this morning, so you can take your time, and they’ll be ready when you’re done.” 

“Lovely,” Draco said, stretching his back before they headed for the door. “Hey, maybe we’ll have a reply from Biscus when we get downstairs.” 

“Let’s hope so,” Harry said, nodding as they left the room. 

They headed along the landing and down the stairs to the second floor, where they stopped to use the bathroom before continuing down the next flight of stairs until they were on the ground floor. 

Pushing open the door to the kitchen, Draco stopped in his tracks. Sitting on the kitchen table, there were no less than seven owls, each of them holding an envelope. Blinking, he turned to Harry. “Er…” 

Harry peered over Draco’s shoulder with wide eyes. “Do you think one of them is from Irwin Biscus?” he asked in a whisper. 

Draco looked at him incredulously. “There are seven owls on our kitchen table and that’s all you can ask?” 

“Well… maybe they’re all from him?” Harry suggested, pushing Draco into the room. “Come on, let’s see who they’re from.” 

“I don’t see any red envelopes at least,” Draco muttered, moving closer to the table with caution.

“I think we’d have heard those by now if there were any,” Harry said over his shoulder.

“Good point,” Draco replied, sitting down. Immediately, an owl hopped over to him, followed by another, each determined to give him their letter first. 

“Alright, alright, stop fighting,” Draco said, alarmed. He reached out to take one of the letters. Opening the envelope, he quickly scanned the contents of the letter. “Just an angry note from Hestia Whiting,” he muttered, crumpling it up and dropping it on the table before reaching for another owl. 

Harry sat beside him and took a note off a small owl that nibbled his fingers irritably. “Get off,” he muttered, opening the envelope. “Ah. Another angry note…. Do you think there might have been another article in _The Prophet_?”

“Possibly,” Draco replied, dropping the letter he was holding in disgust. “The two I’ve read are accusing me of brainwashing you.” 

“Yeah, that one was too,” Harry said, nodding at the letter he’d just put down. 

Draco made a face but reached for another letter. “We’ll have to open them all,” he said. “Just in case one _is_ from Biscus.” 

Harry nodded. “I know,” he said. “I suppose we don’t have to read them all though.” 

“No,” Draco replied. “Although we probably should be checking them for curses before we open them.” 

“No need,” Harry said. “There’s a charm around the house that detects anything untoward and won’t let the owl through if it finds anything.” 

Draco gave Harry an impressed look and nodded again. “Very clever, Potter,” he said. 

“Thanks,” Harry said, grinning. Then a few moments later, “it was Hermione’s work.” 

Draco snorted. “I’m not surprised,” he said. “It’s a tricky spell.” 

Harry nodded. “It is,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it as well, I don’t think.” 

“You would have been able to with practice,” Draco replied, shrugging as he opened another envelope.

“Thanks for your faith,” Harry said, amused. 

“I’m not even joking,” Draco replied. “You mastered so much while you were in school that I’m pretty sure you could do anything you wanted.” 

“Well, maybe,” Harry said, feeling his cheeks turn red at the unexpected compliment.

“I think we’ve opened all the envelopes,” Draco said, looking at Harry. “Nothing from Biscus.” 

Harry shook his head, dropping the last letter on the table. “No, nothing here either,” he sighed. “Kreacher!” 

“Yes, Masters?” Kreacher asked, appearing at their side. 

“Is our lunch ready?” Harry asked, turning to the elf. 

“Yes, Master Harry,” Kreacher replied, nodding. “Would young Masters like it now?” 

“Yes please, Kreacher,” Harry nodded. “We have more work to do this afternoon.”

“As you wishes, Master Harry,” Kreacher said, bowing. He disappeared and returned a moment later with a platter of sandwiches. 

“Thanks, Kreacher,” Harry said, before turning to Draco. “Do you want to owl Pansy before having a sandwich?” 

Draco nodded. “I’d better,” he said. “Or I might forget.” 

Harry nodded, passing him some paper and a quill. “Here you go.” 

Draco paused thoughtfully before putting the quill to the paper and beginning to write.

_Dear Pansy,  
Would you please join us for dinner tonight at Grimmauld Place. We have something to tell you, as well as a proposal to make.  
Yours,   
Draco_

Folding the letter up and sealing it with magic, Draco gave his low whistle to call Ulysses and within seconds, the owl swooped into the kitchen.

“Take this to Pansy please, Ulysses,” Draco said, tying the letter to Ulysses’ leg carefully. “Wait for a reply.” 

Ulysses gave a soft hoot before taking off again and sweeping from the room. 

“Do you think Pansy will mind?” Harry asked, picking up a sandwich and taking a bite. “Coming for dinner, I mean?” 

Draco shook his head, reaching for a sandwich too. “No, I doubt it,” he said. “She’ll be thrilled that we want her help.” 

“Hope so,” Harry replied, swallowing. “We need to get a copy of _The Prophet_ too.” 

“Oh, bugger,” Draco said, dropping his sandwich. “I should have asked Pansy to bring one with her.” 

“Floo her?” Harry suggested. 

Draco shook his head. “Her fireplace isn’t connected,” he said. “I always owl her.” 

“Oh. Then I’m all out of ideas,” Harry said, shrugging. “Although I would think if there’s something in there, _someone_ will bring us a copy.” 

“True,” Draco nodded. “I suppose I could always just send Ulysses back to ask her to bring a copy. We’ll see what she has to say in reply, anyway.” 

“Good idea,” Harry agreed, picking another sandwich up. “You said Pansy doesn’t live far from here, so he should be back soon, right?”

“Yes,” Draco nodded. “She’s only about ten minutes from here. We could go to her house, but you know for a fact we’d bump into someone who’d want to know why we’re holding hands.” 

“Oh yeah,” Harry nodded. “It’s frustrating because we could do a lot of this stuff ourselves, but I really don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

Draco shook his head. “We need to get something out there before _we_ actually go out,” he said. “I think that instead of telling Pansy we want to do an interview after the wedding, we should break the news of our relationship now. We don’t need to mention the bonding magic, but…” 

“No, I think I get what you mean,” Harry said, nodding slowly. “How do you feel about saying we reconnected by chance and realised that, without all the house politics getting in the way, there’s actually quite a spark between us?” 

“That’s not a bad idea at all,” Draco replied. “And it’s even the truth, in a way,” he added after a moment, his cheeks tinged with pink.

Harry nodded again. His cheeks were also red. “That’s what I thought.”

Draco paused for a moment. “Do you think it’s arrogant of us to think that anyone will be remotely interested?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I don’t think we’re being arrogant,” he said. “I think we’re being practical. We both know that our names attract attention on their own, nevermind together. And I think that if we sow the seeds of a relationship now, it won’t be like it’s come out of the blue if we do get married.” 

Draco nodded. “That’s actually a good way of looking at it,” he said. “It might… lessen the blow for people, so to speak.”

“Exactly,” Harry replied. “We’ll just have to be prepared for more letters, I suppose.”

At that moment, Ulysses swooped back into the room, landing silently in front of Draco. 

“Ah. Speaking of letters,” Draco said, and Harry watched him untie the letter from the owl’s leg. “Wait there, I might have another letter to send.” 

Ulysses gave a hoot and hopped across to the plate of sandwiches, nibbling at the crust of one. 

Harry watched for a moment, chuckling, before turning his attention to the letter. “What does she say?” 

Draco cleared his throat and read the letter aloud.

_Dearest Draco,  
It would be my pleasure. I shall be there at six.   
I will bring a copy of today’s Prophet. There’s something in it that you need to see.   
Yours, Pansy_

As he finished, he looked at Harry. “Well, that confirms our suspicions, I suppose.”

Harry nodded. “I guess so,” he said. “Oh well. All the more reason to do what we’ve just been talking about.”

“Yes,” Draco nodded, folding the letter back up and reaching out to stroke Ulysses. “You can go now,” he said softly. “We don’t need to send any more letters.”

Ulysses nibbled his finger briefly and took off.

“Ready for more work?” Harry asked. 

“Let’s go,” Draco nodded. “We can work until five and then we’ll have some down time before Pansy gets here.” 

“Sounds good,” Harry said, standing up and holding his hand out to Draco. 

“I’m nervous,” Draco admitted, taking Harry’s hand as he stood. 

“I know,” Harry said. “I am too. I never thought I’d be making my love life such public knowledge.” 

Draco let out a laugh. “That’s one way of looking at it,” he said. “I’m just worried that things will get worse for both of us.” 

“I know,” Harry said, squeezing Draco’s hand. “We’ll manage. We’re not alone.” 

Draco nodded, falling silent as they climbed the stairs to the third floor again. 

Once they entered the newly created lab, they settled down to work and Harry resumed his dictating, while Draco attended to his potions.

***

When the clock struck five, Harry looked up and rubbed the back of his neck. “That came around quickly,” he said. “Are you almost done?”

Draco blinked and rolled his neck, wincing at the audible crack it made. “Yes,” he said. “Everything is looking as it should now, and it’ll all be alright until tomorrow.” 

“Let’s go downstairs then,” Harry said. “Unless you’d rather have a nap or something?” 

Draco shook his head. “No, no naps. We won’t sleep properly tonight if we have a nap now.” 

“I don’t know, I feel like I could sleep for a week,” Harry said, pushing his glasses up with his free hand to rub at his eyes. “It’s warm in here.” 

“Oh, yes, I normally have a cooling charm going,” Draco said. “I forgot to put it in place, sorry.” 

“It’s alright,” Harry said with a smile. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go and just veg out on the sofa then.” 

“Veg out?” Draco asked, giving Harry an amused look. “What kind of saying is that?” 

“One that means to relax,” Harry said firmly. “Come on.” 

Draco laughed and Harry led him out of the room and down the stairs. 

Reaching the lounge, Harry gave his armchair a mournful glance before making his way to the sofa. 

“I thought you were going to resize the chair?” Draco asked. 

“I was, but the sofa isn’t that bad really,” Harry said, sitting down. “And there’s plenty of room for us both.” 

Draco nodded, sitting down next to Harry, immediately pulling his feet up beside him. 

Harry shifted slightly, making himself a bit more comfortable as he leant back against the cushions. Then, as an afterthought, he lifted his arm and slid it across Draco’s shoulders, pulling the blond close. 

“Oh, so this is what you meant by veg out?” Draco asked, tilting his head against Harry’s shoulder so he could look up at him. 

Harry flushed. “Sorry, is this okay?” 

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Draco replied, smiling as he leant against Harry. “You’re quite comfortable.” 

Harry laughed. “Well, that’s a compliment I didn’t know I needed.” 

Draco smiled and slid his arm across Harry’s waist. “Just telling the truth.” 

Harry felt the butterflies appear in his stomach once more and he closed his eyes. 

“Don’t go to sleep,” Draco said softly, still watching Harry. 

“I’m not,” Harry replied, opening his eyes again. “I just closed them for a second.” 

Draco chuckled. “It feels like it’s been a long day,” he said, his voice still soft.

“You’re telling me,” Harry said, lifting his hand without thinking to play with the soft tendrils of hair that curled at the nape of Draco’s neck. “Everything is so much harder to do when we have to be in constant contact.” 

Draco swallowed back the moan that wanted to escape at Harry’s first touch. “I know,” he said eventually. “It is a bit inconvenient.” He closed his eyes, concentrating on the feeling of Harry’s fingers in his hair, enjoying the sensation. He’d always liked having his hair stroked. 

“I wonder how long we’ll have to be in contact for,” Harry mused. “Hermione said something about it being until the bond is established, but… how do we know if that’s happened?” 

“Mm?” Draco asked, his mind very much on the feeling of Harry’s hand on his neck rather than the conversation. 

“How do we know if the bond is fully established?” Harry asked again, glancing down at Draco. 

“I don’t know,” Draco replied, blinking. “I suppose Blaise might know. Or it’ll be in one of Granger’s books.” 

“Maybe,” Harry nodded. “I suppose we could just test the magic and try to move apart.” 

“Don’t even think about it,” Draco said, opening his eyes fully to look up at Harry. “We don’t know what the magic will do. It might have moved on from just tingling and burning.” 

“I didn’t think of that,” Harry said after a moment. “I won’t test it. I mean, I think we’re probably satisfying it at the minute anyway.” 

“Yes,” Draco said, nodding. “I should think we are.” 

Harry resumed stroking Draco’s hair after a moment’s thought. “This must be the quickest turn around in a relationship there has ever been.”

“Me and you?” Draco asked, his eyes slipping closed again. “Probably. But it wasn’t like we were still really enemies.”

“No, I know,” Harry said. “But we hadn’t spoken for two years, or even seen each other.”

“I never forgot what you looked like though,” Draco said. “How could I? No-one else has a nest of hair like you.”

“Shush,” Harry said, tugging lightly on a strand of Draco’s hair. “It’s not my fault. No-one has hair as bright as yours either. Well, apart from your parents, I suppose.”

“Oh, don’t mention them,” Draco said. “Not when we’re bonding.” 

Harry snorted softly. “We’ve been bonding for days,” he said. “Literally.” 

“You know what I mean,” Draco replied. “This relationship is… delicate. Given our past. Why would you bring up my parents?” 

“I… don’t know,” Harry admitted. “I’m sorry. I was just… thinking about your hair.” 

Draco laughed. “My hair?”

“It’s very bright,” Harry said. “And straight. I like it.”

Draco gave a snort of laughter and pushed himself up so that he was half sitting, his hand splayed across Harry’s stomach as he looked down at him. Their eyes met for what seemed like a very long moment, and then Draco leant down, kissing Harry hard. 

Harry gasped as he returned the kiss, bringing one hand up to cup the back of Draco’s neck. 

Draco pulled away after a moment, his cheeks flushed pink. “Ah…” 

“Don’t apologise,” Harry said quickly, and Draco could feel the heat in his cheeks. “We need to stop doing that, remember.” 

“I couldn’t help myself,” Draco said softly, lying back down again, his head resting on Harry’s shoulder. 

“It’s okay,” Harry replied. “I think that’s what we’re supposed to do. Now that we’re giving this a go, I mean.” 

Draco nodded. “I know,” he said, his voice still quiet. “It’s still a bit strange, don’t you think?” 

“Yeah,” Harry said. “I do. Not _bad_ strange, but definitely strange.” 

“Oh, no, not ‘bad’ strange,” Draco repeated, shaking his head slightly. “You’re actually a good kisser.” 

“Did you think I’d be bad?” Harry asked curiously. 

“Well… I’d never actually thought about it at all,” Draco said, frowning slightly. 

“No, I can’t say I’d ever thought about it either,” Harry replied. “I’m glad we’re having this conversation now, by the way.” 

Draco chuckled. “Better now than after a month of marriage, surely?” 

Harry paused for a moment and then nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Definitely better now. That way, we can go into the marriage with our eyes wide open.” 

“Exactly,” Draco said with a contented sigh. “What’s for dinner?” 

“Oh,” Harry groaned softly. “I don’t know. We didn’t tell Kreacher what we wanted, so he could be making anything. Or nothing…. Kreacher!” 

“Master Harry called?” Kreacher asked, appearing with a crack. 

“Yes,” Harry replied. “Have you started on dinner?” 

“Kreacher has,” Kreacher answered, nodding. “Kreacher is making pie.” 

“Oh,” Harry said in surprise. “Well, that sounds nice. We’re expecting a guest too.” 

Kreacher nodded. “Kreacher knows,” he said, giving Harry a look. “Kreacher heard the young masters talking at lunchtime.” 

Harry cringed slightly, feeling Draco burying his nose in his shoulder. “Yeah… sorry Kreacher. It slipped our minds to ask you earlier.” 

“Kreacher does not mind,” Kreacher replied, shaking his head. “Kreacher will make enough for three.” 

“Thanks, Kreacher,” Harry said, giving the elf a smile. 

Kreacher bowed once more and disappeared again. 

Harry prodded Draco’s shoulder. “You are not helpful!” 

Draco snorted with laughter again, his nose still buried in Harry’s shoulder. “You just got told off by your elf!” 

“Oh, shut up,” Harry muttered, folding his arms across his chest and dislodging Draco’s head from his shoulder. 

“Don’t get crabby,” Draco said, poking at Harry’s stomach. “I know I’m as much to blame. I could have told him too.” 

“Exactly,” Harry said, swatting at Draco’s hand after a moment. “Stop. Poking. Me.” 

Draco grinned and continued trying to prod Harry’s stomach, dodging the attempts to make him stop. “Make me.” 

Harry grabbed for Draco’s hand again, and again, finally succeeding in catching him by the finger. “Oh yeah, now what are you going to do?” he asked with a grin. 

Draco wriggled and began tickling Harry with his other hand, nipping lightly at Harry’s side with his fingers. 

“Hey!” Harry squawked, jerking away from Draco’s hand slightly while attempting to keep hold of the finger he already had a grip on. 

Draco laughed and dodged out of Harry’s way as best he could.

They wrestled for a few moments, laughing together even as the Floo roared in the kitchen. They continued wrestling, neither of them willing to give in, as the door to the living room opened and Pansy entered. Harry was pinned to the sofa by Draco and they were both pink-cheeked as they laughed. 

She watched them silently for a moment, her mouth open in surprise. “When you’ve finished…” she said eventually. 

Draco looked up, surprised at the interruption, allowing Harry to successfully grab both of his hands. “Pansy, you’re… oh, right on time,” he said, looking at the clock and realising that it was already six o’clock. 

Pansy nodded, raising her eyebrow at Draco’s hair, which was sticking up where Harry had run his hand through it. 

Harry gently pushed Draco off him and into a proper sitting position before sitting up himself. “Hi Pansy,” he said, dropping one of Draco’s hands. “We’re glad you could come.” 

“I’m only sorry I wasn’t here earlier,” Pansy said, giving them both a look. “To see the beginning of whatever _that_ was.” 

“That was us having a minor disagreement,” Draco said, glancing at Harry. “Over whose fault it was that neither of us told Kreacher that you were coming for dinner.” 

Pansy blinked. “Right. Well… have you finished?” 

“Yes. I won,” Harry said quickly. 

“You—” Draco started before realising Harry was grinning at him. “Will pay later.” 

Pansy raised her eyebrow at them once more. “Draco…” 

“Yes, sorry, Pansy. We did ask you here for a reason,” Draco said, glancing at Harry again. 

“Yes, I believe you mentioned a proposal?” Pansy said, looking between them. 

Harry nodded, squeezing Draco’s hand. “Yeah,” he said. “We want to ask you to… give us an interview.” 

“An interview?” Pansy asked, frowning at them. “What do you want to give an interview for?” 

“We’re giving this relationship a proper go,” Draco said. “We’ve… grown closer over these last few days and…” 

“Realised that we are actually attracted to each other,” Harry finished. “And that marriage will be easier if we’re not just going through the motions.” 

Pansy blinked again, her eyes wide as she looked at them. “You’re actually… in a relationship?” 

Draco nodded. “Yes,” he said. “It’s all still new and… weird, sometimes, but we want to see what happens.” 

“We are still hoping that the Curse Breakers can remove the magic,” Harry said. “Because when it comes to it, we’d rather be married because we _want_ to be married than being married just to satisfy some bonding spell.” 

“I see,” Pansy said, nodding. “And you want _me_ to do the interview… why?” 

“Because neither of us can stand Rita Skeeter,” Draco said. “And we want fair representation. Everyone knows that you are one of the best writers at _Witch Weekly_.” 

“Flattery will get you everywhere, darling,” Pansy replied with a smirk. “Do you want to do the interview today?” 

Harry nodded. “Yes please,” he said. “Now we’ve made up our minds, we want to get something out there as soon as possible since we are going to have to be married in just under a month.” 

“And we won’t be able to keep the fact we’ve been married from reaching the papers,” Draco added. “Even if we keep it as quiet as possible, they’ll still find out. So having something about our relationship out there beforehand will stop people talking about it as much. Does that make sense?” 

Pansy nodded. “Yes,” she said. “That does make sense, actually. I can’t imagine a relationship between you two will be well received by the public, regardless of how the news is broken, but knowing how Rita Skeeter tends to portray stories like this, I can understand why you don’t want her anywhere near it.” 

“No,” Draco replied. “We’ve already received some very… angry letters as a result of the articles that have already been published.” 

“Oh! Speaking of which,” Pansy said, opening her bag and pulling out a copy of _The Daily Prophet_. “Here. Page six.”

Draco glanced worriedly at Harry as he took the paper from Pansy.

Harry helped him turn to page six and they both began to read.

**Where is Harry Potter?  
 _And more importantly, where is Draco Malfoy?_  
Frequent readers will remember our article of a few days ago, revealing that Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy had been seen eating dinner together at Au Troll Endormi. Since that night, neither Potter nor Malfoy have been seen, and your reporter has it on good authority that Potter has not been at work. Have the former schoolboy rivals taken their relationship to the next level? Or is there something more sinister afoot? Whatever is happening with Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, The Daily Prophet will find out!**

Draco and Harry let out simultaneous groans as they dropped the paper.

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Draco said with a sigh, looking at Harry. 

Harry nodded. “We’re going to have to go outside.” 

Draco groaned again, flopping back against the sofa. 

“I can get this interview into tomorrow’s edition of _Witch Weekly_ ,” Pansy said, looking at her watch. “If I can borrow Ulysses to send word to the editor now?” 

“Of course,” Draco replied, sitting up again. He gave a low whistle and they all watched as Ulysses swooped into the room a few moments later. 

Pansy dug in her bag and pulled out a small notepad and a quill. She scribbled a quick note and tied it to Ulysses’ leg. “Go quickly,” she said softly to the bird. Ulysses gave a soft hoot and took off immediately. 

Draco let out a long breath, leaning back against the sofa cushions once more. He was fully aware that this had been his idea, but now that Pansy had set things in motion to get the story out, the realisation that his life was going to be _very_ public knowledge had hit him and he couldn’t help but worry about how it would be perceived. 

“It’ll be okay,” Harry said softly, sitting back beside Draco. “We can make this work to our advantage.” 

“I know,” Draco replied, turning his head to look at Harry. “I know we can. I just don’t know if we’re prepared for the backlash.” 

“We’ll strengthen the wards around the house,” Harry said. “To make sure the worst we get are angry letters.”

Draco snorted. “We. You mean the worst _I’ll_ get will be angry letters,” he said. 

Harry frowned. “I don’t… look, let’s do the interview. Once we’ve both answered questions, they’ll see things differently.” 

“You don’t know that,” Draco replied bitterly, closing his eyes. “I know you think I’m being all ‘woe is me’ and stuff, but I know how this works, Potter. I know how things will go from now.” 

“I know,” Harry said. “And I know that you’re probably right. But, I swear, I’ll do my best to take some of the heat off you. We’re in this together. I am _not_ about to let you take all of the flack for it.” 

Draco opened his eyes and looked at Harry, giving him a small smile as he nodded slightly. “There’s that hero complex again,” he said softly. 

Harry laughed and nudged Draco’s side. “Stop it,” he said. 

“Well. I didn’t think there was anything more vomit-inducing than watching Brown fawn all over Weasley at school,” Pansy said dryly. “But there it is.” 

“Oh, do shut up Pansy, you cow,” Draco said. “You have no idea.” 

Pansy’s expression softened. “No, I know I don’t,” she said. “So how about you tell me? Let’s do this interview. Give me your story and I’ll tell the public the truth. Or, at least, whatever version of it you want published.” 

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand again. “Let’s do it,” he said. “We need to.” 

Draco glanced at him and nodded. “I know. Alright, quill ready, Pans?” 

Pansy smiled and opened her notepad to a fresh page, quill poised.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

In the days following Pansy’s article, as predicted, more and more angry letters arrived at Grimmauld Place. But, for a change, this time they were angry at both Harry and Draco equally. Some continued to blame Draco for corrupting Harry, while others accused Harry of being weak, allowing Draco to brainwash him. 

“I’m fed up with these letters already,” Harry sighed, throwing another pile into the bin. “I’m just going to stop reading my post.” 

“You and me both,” Draco said. “I’m glad we strengthened those wards though. Can you imagine if they’re Howlers we were getting?” 

“I know,” Harry said. “We’d be deaf. And I think Kreacher would be close to hexing us for ruining the quiet.” 

Draco snorted. “And who would blame him?” 

Harry chuckled and shook his head. 

“I think we should go shopping today,” Draco said after a moment. “Just to the supermarket.” 

“Are you sure?” Harry asked, looking at him. “When we’re outside, we’ll have to take all the abuse in person.” 

“I know,” Draco replied. “But the story is out there now. People know we’re in a relationship, there’s no need for us to hide anymore.” 

“Are you ready to walk around hand in hand though?” Harry said. “Because I’m not sure if I am. People might think we’re trying to rub it in…” 

“We’ll have to deal with that whenever we take that first step outside though,” Draco said. “So why not now? No-one will try anything if we’re hand in hand because they’ll be too afraid of hurting you.” 

Harry frowned. “I don’t like that you think you’re less valuable than me,” he said. “I know, I know, it’s not your actual opinion. I still don’t like it.”

“I don’t like it either,” Draco sighed. “But we have to be realistic. Most people still think of me as a Death Eater, whether we like it or not, but they won’t be willing to fire any hexes at you. Especially because you’re an Auror.” 

Harry was silent for a moment and then nodded. “Alright. You’re right,” he said. “We might as well go out today. But instead of the supermarket, why don’t we go to the Ministry? I’ve got some paperwork I need to turn in, so we could do that and then call into the little Tesco near the visitor’s entrance.” 

Draco nodded in response. “Alright,” he said. “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll need to check on my potions this afternoon though.” 

“That’s fine,” Harry replied. “I won’t need to be at work for long. Kingsley knows the situation and I’m still restricted to paperwork.” 

“I bet you hate that, don’t you?” Draco asked, giving Harry a knowing look. “You’ve never been the paperwork type.” 

Harry snorted. “You can say that again,” he said. “No offence, but I can’t wait until we don’t have to be connected.” 

Draco laughed. “You’re not the only one,” he said. “As much as I’ve come to terms with everything, it is very inconvenient to have to be in constant contact with someone.” 

“You said it,” Harry said, grinning. “Come on then. Let’s go and get my paperwork from upstairs and then we can get going.”

***

Late that afternoon, Harry slumped down onto the sofa, pulling Draco with him. Sighing, he tipped his head back against the cushions.

“Tired?” Draco asked, pulling his feet up onto the sofa. 

“More than you can imagine,” Harry said, turning his head to look at Draco. “I didn’t think we’d have to speak to so many people in the Ministry.” 

“No, neither did I,” Draco said, frowning slightly. “A lot of them didn’t really want to speak to me though, did you notice? I might as well have been invisible.” 

“One or two,” Harry admitted. “And whatever that potion is that you’ve got brewing upstairs has made my eyes feel tired.” 

“It’s a variation of sleeping potion,” Draco admitted. “The vapours don’t have any effect on me because I’ve got used to them. I forgot that you hadn’t been exposed to them before.” 

Harry groaned, closing his eyes. “Great,” he said. “Your Patronus lesson will have to wait until tomorrow then.” 

“That’s fine,” Draco said, leaning against the cushion beside Harry. “I think we could do with an early night, tonight. It’s been a challenging day.” 

Harry nodded. “I think you’re right,” he said. “So let’s eat dinner and then we can go up to bed.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Draco sighed.

Harry laughed. “Come on then,” he said, standing up. “I’m sure Kreacher will have dinner ready.” 

Draco stood up too, following Harry into the kitchen where they were greeted with a roast dinner set out on the table. “This smells wonderful, Kreacher.” 

Kreacher bowed and bustled away. 

Harry sat down at the table, Draco beside him so that their shoulders were touching. After the sausage sandwich incident, where it had been clear that holding hands while eating was not really an option, they’d experimented and found that as long as they sat close enough, they could function almost normally. “I’m glad we realised we don’t actually need to be holding hands,” he said. “Meal times would just be ridiculously hard otherwise.” 

“I know,” Draco replied, cutting up some of his food. “It’s nice having the use of both hands while we eat.” 

Harry nodded, beginning to eat too. “What have we got to do tomorrow?” 

“Patronus lesson,” Draco said. “And then whatever work we’ve got on, I suppose. I’ll need to be in the lab most of the day, I think.” 

“And I’ve got more paperwork to do, thanks to Kingsley,” Harry said, making a face at the thought. “I can get on with that while you’re working.” 

“Don’t make that face,” Draco said. “It was your choice to go into work. You must have known he’d give you work.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Harry sighed. “I can’t help it. I’d much rather be on a raid or something.” 

“It won’t be much longer,” Draco said, nudging his shoulder against Harry’s. “Then you’ll be back out there, putting yourself in danger, leaving your husband at home to worry.” 

Harry snorted with laughter. “Would you really worry about me?” 

Draco shrugged, smiling. “I might do,” he said. “I’d be a bad husband if I didn’t, wouldn’t I?” 

Harry chuckled and shook his head. “I suppose you would, yes. Come on, let’s go up to bed.” 

Draco stood up, taking Harry’s hand as he did so. 

Heading up the stairs, Harry couldn’t help but wonder how it was possible that they’d settled into such a comfortable routine already.

***

Over the next two weeks, their routine was fairly steady. They would go to bed, then get up the next morning and, after eating breakfast, would head up to the lab where Draco continued with his work and Harry completed more and more paperwork.

They made more trips outside of the house, and found that the looks they had received the first day had lessened over the course of the two weeks. Draco had spoken to several of the apothecary owners in London and had secured numerous orders for his muscle salve, which had both surprised and pleased him. 

The amount of angry letters that they received had also reduced to only one or two per day, which were usually easily identified by their envelopes. Whereas the articles in the _Prophet_ insisted that Harry was being forced into a relationship against his will, Pansy’s article was the exact opposite, painting them as an inevitable couple that had been pitted against each other by the adults in their school days. It had also been obvious to anyone they had spoken to whenever they had ventured outside of the house, that Harry was anything but being forced into the relationship and it appeared that people were more accepting of them as a couple now. 

So, it was something of a surprise when they were confronted outside of the Ministry by an elderly witch one day, shouting at them about how she hadn’t fought in the first war for Harry to set up home with a former Death Eater. Thankfully, Ron had appeared from inside just as the witch reached for her wand and had moved her on with a lecture about how times had changed.

Any time that they weren’t working in the lab, or outside, they spent practicing the Patronus charm. Progress with the charm was slow, simply due to the fact that they had so much else to worry about. They had had dinner with Pansy and Blaise once or twice, and with Ron and Hermione, but were still no nearer to having the bonding magic removed. 

They had managed to avoid triggering the magic by staying in constant contact with each other, no matter how inconvenient it was. They had become adept at showering beside one another, not to mention getting dressed and undressed, and had it all down to a fine art. 

On the last Saturday before the curse dictated that they would need to get married (or suffer the consequences), Harry woke up with his boxers feeling uncomfortably tight and gave a groan as he realised why. Looking over his shoulder to where Draco was still sleeping, he wondered if he could get away with a quick handjob to relieve himself of the tension. 

Biting his lip gently, Harry eased his hand past the waistband and wrapped his fingers around his erection. Swallowing the moan that wanted to escape, he began to slowly work his hand up and down. He tried to keep as still as possible in order to avoid waking Draco up. 

Biting his lip, Harry closed his eyes briefly as he continued to work his hand, feeling his climax building. “Fuck,” he whispered as he came, his hand suddenly hot and sticky inside his boxer shorts. Breathing hard, he let his head fall back onto the pillow, squeezing his eyes closed. He didn’t dare look at Draco, which meant he jumped violently when a voice broke the silence of the room. 

“I must say, that was _not_ the wake up call I was expecting, Potter.” 

Harry groaned, feeling his cheeks turn scarlet. “I thought you were asleep.” 

“I was,” Draco replied. “But when you have to be in constant contact with someone, it’s probably best not to have a quick wank.” 

“It’s not like I planned it,” Harry grumbled, fumbling for his wand to cast a cleaning charm. “I just woke up like that, and I didn’t fancy showering with you when I had a hard on, given that we’re not… _there_ yet.” 

Draco turned onto his side, hooking one leg over Harry’s as he faced him to ensure they maintained contact. “I don’t mind,” he said softly. “To be honest, I’m surprised we made it this long without one of us waking up with a hard on.” 

Harry sighed and turned to face Draco. “Me too,” he said. “I’m a bit gutted that it was me first.” 

Draco laughed and reached a hand out, pushing Harry’s hair off his forehead slightly. “One-nil to me, is it?” 

“More like it’s your turn next time,” Harry replied, smiling slightly. “Or at least I hope it is.” 

“I’ll let you know,” Draco said with a grin. “Can you believe that we’ll be married in a week?” 

Harry sighed again. “No,” he said. “I really thought Biscus might come through for us.”

“Really?” Draco asked. “I wasn’t convinced. I hoped, of course, but…” 

“I know,” Harry replied, putting his hand over Draco’s. “I hoped too. Do you, er, do you think we should get suits for the wedding or something?” 

“Don’t you have dress robes?” Draco asked, frowning slightly. 

“Not anymore,” Harry replied. “I haven’t needed them for a while. I tend to avoid the Ministry functions.” 

“Well, we could go and get some dress robes,” Draco said slowly. “But that might lead to awkward questions. I know we’ve told everyone that we’re in a relationship but if we tell people we’re getting married…” 

“Yeah, I know,” Harry said, nodding. “We need to keep that bit quiet for now. We can have an official wedding after a while of being together, I suppose.” 

Draco nodded, too. “That sounds like a good plan,” he said. “Much more believable than us getting married three weeks after the interview with Pansy. Or should I say more acceptable?” 

“Both, probably,” Harry replied. “So maybe suits would be better for this bit? We can go to a Muggle tailor to get them?”

Harry watched Draco as he thought for a moment before nodding again. “Yes. Let’s do that. Do you know any Muggle tailors?” 

“No,” Harry said. “But Hermione will. She’ll be able to find us one where we won’t attract too much attention, walking in holding hands.” 

“Is that important?” Draco asked, frowning. 

“A little bit,” Harry said. “Muggles aren’t as accepting of gay men.” 

Draco groaned softly. “Could we get a tailor to come to the house?” 

“I… don’t know,” Harry admitted. “Maybe. Hermione will know that too, I think.” 

“Then I think we need to Floo call her,” Draco said. “We probably should start thinking about actually getting married… I have no idea where to start.” 

“Me neither,” Harry sighed. “Should we go and have a shower and get breakfast first?” 

Draco nodded once more. “Yes. We should.”

***

By lunchtime, Harry and Draco had showered, eaten breakfast and done a little bit of work in the lab. Draco had allowed Harry to assist him with some of the potions that he had brewing, on the condition that he did explicitly as he was instructed.

“Right, there’s nothing more that we can do with these today,” Draco said. “Lunch?”

“Lunch,” Harry nodded. “Then we can Floo call Hermione before we work on your Patronus some more. You’re so close to being able to cast one fully.”

“Do you think so?” Draco asked, looking at him. “It’s starting to feel like I’ll never get it.”

“You definitely will,” Harry said as they left the lab and headed downstairs. “Just remember a corporeal one is a bit harder, so don’t worry if it doesn’t form an animal. It doesn’t need the shape to be able to protect you.”

“I know,” Draco nodded. “I would _like_ it to be an animal though.”

Harry chuckled. “Well, you never know.” 

They continued down the stairs until they were on the ground floor. As they walked into the kitchen, they stopped in their tracks. Sitting on the kitchen table, was an owl with a very formal looking envelope tied to its leg. 

Harry looked at Draco slowly. “Do you think that’s from him?” 

“Biscus?” Draco asked quietly, gazing at the owl. “Hopefully.” 

Harry approached the table, Draco following behind. The owl hopped towards them and held out its leg so that Harry could untie the letter. 

Draco dug in his pocket to find some owl treats that he kept for Ulysses and offered them to the owl, who ate them greedily before turning and flying from the kitchen. 

“Well,” Harry said, turning the envelope over and looking at the seal. “It is from the Curse Breakers.” 

“Open it,” Draco urged, sitting down at the table and pulling Harry down with him. 

“Alright, alright,” Harry said. He broke the seal on the envelope and slid the thick, cream-coloured parchment out. Clearing his throat, he began to read. 

_“Dear Mr Potter & Mr Malfoy,  
I am writing to inform you that, unfortunately, I have been unable to find a solution to your predicament. It would not usually be permitted for a Curse Breaker to give up on a case, however, given the nature of your predicament and as we understand that you will be married in a week’s time, it has been deemed that continuing with our investigation would be a waste of resources._

_Please be aware that bonding spells have been known to diminish over time and it would, therefore, be prudent to have diagnostic spells performed prior to your wedding to determine whether the magic is still in place. You can, of course, have these spells performed at any time, but the optimal time would be on the morning of your wedding as this would allow you to then only go ahead with the wedding if necessary. Performing the spells at any other time may not return accurate results, given that the spell is a creation of the Black family and we are unaware of any hidden pitfalls within the magic._

_Once again, I apologise that I have been unable to find a solution to your problem. I wish you luck with your future._

_Yours,_  
Irwin Biscus  
Curse Breaker” 

Harry looked up at Draco. “Well.” 

“That’s that, then,” Draco said softly, his shoulders slumping. 

“Yeah,” Harry replied, nodding. “It looks like it. I suppose there is a bit of hope that it might have worn off?” 

“Do you think it will have?” Draco asked with a sigh. “It’ll be just bloody typical if it hasn’t.”

“Well, if it hasn’t, at least we know what we’re going into,” Harry said. “We’re prepared for marriage anyway, so it won’t make much difference, will it?”

“No, I know it won’t,” Draco replied. “It’s still… I don’t know. I’m not sure how I feel about it.” 

“Me neither,” Harry said, leaning against Draco slightly. “But it makes getting sorted for next week a bit more urgent, doesn’t it?” 

“It does,” Draco agreed. “Do we even have some sort of venue?” 

Harry paused and looked at Draco. “Erm, no, I don’t think we do. Have you got anywhere in mind?” 

Draco shook his head. “No… unless we do it at the Manor? Nice and private?” 

“That’s… not a bad idea, actually,” Harry said slowly. “That way we can control who is there and who isn’t.” 

“And the grounds are nice,” Draco said. “Everything will be in bloom.” 

“Will your mother mind?” Harry asked. “We should probably ask her.” 

“Doubtful,” Draco replied, shaking his head. “She’s supportive.” 

“She’s been great so far,” Harry nodded. “We’ll call Hermione and then your mother.” 

“Fair enough,” Draco said, looking up at the clock. “Are we eating first, though?”

Harry snorted softly. “Yes,” he said. “You do realise you sound like Ron right now though, right?” 

“I have never been so insulted,” Draco replied with a mock gasp. “I am _not_ ruled by my stomach!” 

Harry laughed. “It’s alright, I’m hungry too.” 

As if on cue, a platter of sandwiches appeared on the table, along with a jug of water and two glasses. 

Harry grinned. “Thanks, Kreacher,” he said, looking around. He lifted the jug and poured water into the glasses before reaching for a sandwich. 

“Thank you,” Draco said automatically, taking his glass and lifting it to his mouth to take a sip. “What have we got today?” 

“Ham and cucumber,” Harry said approvingly, taking a large bite of his sandwich. 

“Ah. Healthy lunch then,” Draco said with a smile, also reaching for a sandwich. 

They ate in comfortable silence, each of them occasionally pausing to take a drink. Before long, the platter was clean except for a few crumbs. 

“Ah, I was ready for that,” Harry sighed, sitting back slightly. “I didn’t realise how hungry I was.” 

“We’ve worked hard this morning,” Draco shrugged. “I know it didn’t seem like much, but it took a lot of concentration.” 

“Makes sense, I suppose,” Harry said. “Right. Let’s get these Floo calls done. Then we can do something else.” 

“Sounds good,” Draco nodded, stretching and standing up. 

Harry stood up too, moving around the table to where the fireplace stood. Then he glanced at Draco. “Let’s do this from the living room. It’s more comfortable there. We can pull the cushions off the sofa and sit on them.” 

Draco blinked and looked back at Harry in surprise. “I thought this was the only fireplace that’s on the network?”

Harry shook his head. “No, the one in the living room is, too,” he said. “I just don’t use it much. This one is usually easier for quick calls. But I just think we might be better in the other room for these calls.” 

Draco considered this and then nodded. “Alright,” he said. “I can’t argue with that. Let’s go.” 

He followed Harry as he turned and headed out of the kitchen and into the living room. They pulled two of the big cushions off the sofa and placed them in front of the fireplace. Harry took the box of Floo powder off the mantelpiece and they sat down. 

Taking a pinch of the powder, Harry threw it into the fire and called out the location of Hermione’s office. 

Within seconds, Hermione appeared in front of them. “Harry, Draco, what’s the matter?” she asked in a worried voice. 

“Nothing’s wrong,” Harry said quickly. “Don’t worry. We just need your help with something.” 

“Oh,” Hermione said, relief now evident in her voice. “Well, what is it?” 

“We need help with suits for the wedding,” Harry replied. “We can’t really go and get new dress robes or it’d end up all over the _Prophet_. But we can’t go walking around Muggle London either, for… obvious reasons.” 

“Ah,” Hermione said, nodding. “Yes, I see your dilemma. Walking around Muggle London hand in hand would be a bit risky. I know it’s not as bad as it used to be, but it’s still not as safe as it should be. So how can I help?” 

“Can you find a tailor that could come here?” Harry asked hopefully. “I thought you might know more about this kind of thing.” 

“At least, we _hoped_ you might,” Draco added, shifting slightly beside Harry. 

Hermione looked thoughtful. “I might be able to find someone. You’ll have to give me a couple of days, though? I’ve got a day full of meetings tomorrow and I’m supposed to be in Court Nine in fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Harry said, nodding again. “We’ve got a week to get things sorted. We, er, we got a letter from Irwin Biscus today.” 

Hermione raised her eyebrows in recognition. “I’m guessing that since you’re asking me about tailors, he can’t help?” 

“It’s not that he can’t,” Harry said. “But the fact that the terms of the bonding spell mean we have to get married next week, he suggests that it’s pointless for them to continue with their investigations.” 

“What?” Hermione frowned. “How can they justify that?” 

“They basically said that given the constantly reducing timeframe, if they can’t remove the magic before the wedding, they might as well stop wasting resources now,” Draco said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if Biscus hasn’t even bothered himself to look into it properly. He obviously doesn’t care about his clients’ wellbeing. But he did also say that we should perform diagnostic spells on the morning of the wedding, because there’s a chance that the spell will have dissolved on its own.” 

Harry, who had turned to look at Draco as he spoke, looked back at Hermione and nodded. “Yeah, that too.” 

“Well that’s good, isn’t it?” Hermione asked. “It means there’s hope?” 

“Yes, but we still need to be prepared for the eventuality of a wedding,” Draco replied. “So we really will need those suits sorting out.” 

“Of course,” Hermione said, nodding. “I’ll see what I can do about that. Have you got everything else that you need for a wedding sorted?” 

“We’re thinking of having the ceremony at Malfoy Manor,” Harry said carefully. “In the grounds. We’re going to call Mrs Malfoy after this.” 

“That’s a good idea,” Hermione said, nodding. “No press will get in there uninvited.” 

Draco smirked slightly as he imagined someone trying such a thing. “Exactly.” 

“Well, it certainly sounds like you’re thinking this through,” Hermione said. “I really must go and prepare for this hearing. I’ll get back to you once I’ve looked into the tailor situation.” 

“Thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, flashing her a grateful smile. 

“Yes, we really appreciate everything you’ve done for us so far,” Draco added, nodding. 

Hermione gave them both a smile and nodded. “Goodbye,” she said. “I’ll be in touch.” 

“Bye,” Harry and Draco replied in unison as the flames roared briefly and Hermione disappeared.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big, big thank you to [secretsuccesses](https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsuccesses/pseuds/secretsuccesses) for helping with this chapter ❤️

For a few moments, neither Harry nor Draco moved. Then, Harry turned to Draco, squeezing his hand lightly. “Time to call your mum?” 

Draco nodded, reaching absently for the box of Floo powder. He took a pinch and threw it into the fire. “Narcissa Malfoy at Malfoy Manor!” 

Harry leant against Draco’s side slightly. He was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed at the prospect of _actually_ having to organise a wedding, even knowing that they could potentially call it off. 

“You okay?” Draco asked softly as they waited for Narcissa to answer. 

“Yeah,” Harry replied. “Just… realising that we’ve got a lot to do now.” 

“I know,” Draco said. “It’s scary isn’t it?” 

“Just a bit,” Harry admitted, nodding.

Then, the flames roared and Narcissa appeared in front of them. “Draco, how lovely to see you,” she said, smiling warmly. “And you too, Harry.” 

“Hello, Mother,” Draco said, returning the smile. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to call,” Narcissa said, shifting her position as she got more comfortable. “Is something wrong?” 

“No, not at all,” Draco said quickly. “Well, not really. We got a letter from the Curse Breakers today.” 

“I see,” Narcissa replied carefully. “And what did they have to say?” 

“Well, it wasn’t good news,” Draco sighed. “They’re stopping their investigation since the terms of the bond state that we have to be married by next week. They don’t feel that it’s worth continuing with as they’re no closer to figuring it out.” 

“Ah,” Narcissa murmured gravely. “Hardly ideal.” 

“No, but they also said that sometimes bonding spells have been known to wear off on their own,” Draco continued, “so they recommend that we run diagnostic spells on the morning of the wedding.” 

“Why leave it so late?” Narcissa asked, frowning. “Why not perform these diagnostic spells now?” 

Draco shrugged. “We don’t really know why,” he said. “It was something about it being a Black family creation and them not knowing about… what was it?” he broke off to look at Harry. 

“Hidden pitfalls,” Harry said, leaning forward slightly. “Which makes sense I reckon. They think that if we perform the spells at any other time, they may not return accurate results.” 

“I see,” Narcissa said once more, still looking thoughtful. “I suppose that does make sense, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if there was something sinister contained within the magic.” 

“That’s what we thought as well,” Draco said, nodding. “We’ve spoken to Gra— Hermione. She’s looking into tailors for us, trying to find one that will come to the house to get us some suits.” 

“Very sensible,” Narcissa nodded. “You’d rather have suits than dress robes?” 

“For this wedding, yes,” Draco replied. “If we decide to have a more formal ceremony later, we might look at dress robes for that one.” 

“Very well,” Narcissa replied, giving another nod. “Is there anything I can do to help you?” 

Draco glanced at Harry. “Well, that’s sort of why we’re calling,” he said, looking back to Narcissa. 

“Oh?” Narcissa asked, raising her eyebrow. 

“We’d like to get married in the grounds of the Manor,” Draco said, a hopeful tone appearing in his voice. “We don’t want to go anywhere too public, for obvious reasons, but we don’t want somewhere that isn’t… nice.” 

“Well of course not,” Narcissa said with a smile. “Draco, I would be upset if you _didn’t_ have the wedding here. The grounds are perfect for such events, as you well know.” 

“I do know,” Draco replied, nodding. “But it is only polite to ask.” 

“My answer is, of course, yes,” Narcissa said. “I’ll ask the gardeners to make a start on tidying it up tomorrow. Are you having a proper wedding party?” 

Draco glanced at Harry before shaking his head. “No,” he said, “only close friends and family, so we won’t need a large area.” 

“I know the perfect place,” Narcissa replied thoughtfully. “The trees and flowers will be in full bloom by next week and everything will look spectacular.”

Draco smiled. “Sounds perfect,” he said. 

Harry nodded, also smiling. “Yeah, it does,” he said. “Thank you for letting us hold it there.” 

Narcissa smiled at him. “Harry, please, it is no trouble at all,” she said. “I know that this may not be how either of you imagined your respective weddings, but we can make the best of it.” 

Harry gave another nod. “We will,” he said. “We’re, well, I think we’re happier about it now than we were in the beginning.” 

“Definitely,” Draco said, glancing at Harry again. “I would never have imagined any of this, but… it’s not so bad.” 

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand in response. 

Draco smiled and squeezed back. 

Narcissa watched them fondly, before clearing her throat politely. “Exactly how big a guest list are you considering? Have you even begun to think about who you would invite?” 

Draco frowned. “I would prefer a small one,” he said. “I can’t imagine many people would want to come to _my_ wedding.” 

“Oh, Draco, do stop the self pity,” Narcissa sighed. “You still have friends, and I very much doubt that they would want to miss your wedding.” 

Harry chuckled softly. “I sort of agree with him,” he said. “I don’t want loads of people there. Especially not if they’re from the press.”

“No, I can certainly understand that,” Narcissa replied. “I think you are right to keep the ceremony fairly small if the wedding is only to satisfy the bonding magic.” 

“And it’ll be easier to call it off if it’s only small,” Draco murmured. “If the diagnostic spells reveal that the spell has actually worn off.”

“And _if_ we decide to call it off,” Harry added pointedly. 

“Well, yes,” Draco said, turning to look at him. “But it is a possibility isn’t it?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Harry said. “But we just don’t know what’s going to happen yet, or how we’ll feel on the day.” 

“I know,” Draco sighed. “I’m just preparing for all eventualities, I suppose.” 

“You will both get through this, regardless of what happens next week,” Narcissa said. “I am sure of it. What time will you be having the ceremony?” 

“Er…” Harry said, glancing at Draco again. They hadn’t discussed it. 

“Early afternoon would be best, I think,” Draco said, eyes meeting Harry’s to seek confirmation. “So that we’ll have time to perform the diagnostic spells in the morning as well as getting ready.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “That sounds good to me,” he said. 

“Perfect,” Narcissa replied. “The grounds are lovely at that time, so it will work beautifully. Now, is there anything else you need me to do right now?” 

“I don’t think so,” Draco replied, tilting his head to the side slightly as he thought. 

Harry shook his head. “No, me neither,” he said. 

“Well, then, I shall let you go,” Narcissa said. “I’ll go and have a word with the gardeners so that everything is ready for next week.” 

“Thank you, Mother,” Draco said, giving her a smile. “Goodbye.” 

“Goodbye Mrs Malfoy,” Harry added. “And thank you.” 

Narcissa smiled at them both fondly. “Goodbye, darlings,” she said before the connection ended. 

“Did she just call me darling?” Harry asked after a moment. 

Draco chuckled and leant against Harry. “I think she did,” he said. “Consider yourself lucky. I don’t think she ever called my father ‘darling’.” 

Harry snorted softly. “I’m honoured then,” he said. 

They sat together for a few moments longer without saying anything. Then Draco sighed.

“What’s up?” Harry asked. 

“I don’t know,” Draco replied. “I think, maybe, it’s just hit me that next week we’re potentially going to be married when we haven’t even been on a proper date.” 

“I know,” Harry said, frowning slightly. “It’s a bit strange; before this bonding magic I never would have considered getting married before even dating someone. Like, I know it probably happens in Pureblood circles all the time, but…” 

“It does,” Draco nodded. “Probably would have happened to me if, well, everything that happened hadn’t happened, if that makes sense?” 

“Yeah, it does,” Harry said softly. He was silent for a moment. “Would it have happened even though you’re gay?”

Draco took a deep breath before nodding again. “Yes,” he said. “So I could carry on the Malfoy name. I never told my father that I was gay, so he would have arranged a marriage for me that I would have been expected to go through with. So, in a weird way, I’m sort of glad things happened the way they did. I don’t think I could have gone through life in a marriage that I didn’t have my heart in.” 

Harry swallowed, turning to look at Draco. “Is your heart in this one though?” 

“I think it might be,” Draco replied in a whisper after a moment. “I’m happier now than I have been in a long time. It scares me. How can I be _this_ happy after only a few days with you, when at school…” he broke off, knowing that he didn’t need to finish his sentence.

“I know,” Harry said softly. “It scares me too. It shouldn’t work, the two of us, _we_ shouldn’t work. But… we do, apparently.” 

Draco nodded, gazing at Harry for a moment. “We do,” he echoed, still in a whisper. “I’m just afraid that getting married so soon will ruin things.”

“We’ll find out next week if we even need to get married,” Harry replied. “We can call it off if the magic has worn off. We can do it properly after a more acceptable time together, whether that’s months or years. It doesn’t matter.” 

“How are you so calm about all of this?” Draco asked, closing his eyes as he leaned against Harry. “Every time I _think_ I’m calm about it, something in my head makes me question everything again.”

“I’m not really,” Harry admitted. “My stomach keeps knotting up when I think about it all. But I suppose I’ve resigned myself to the idea that we’re going to have to get married if we want to stay alive. I got quite used to doing things I didn’t particularly like the thought of in order to stay alive a couple of years ago.” 

“Me too,” Draco whispered. “None of them scared me quite as much as this does.” 

Harry gave a small huff of laughter. “Same here.” 

Draco gave a shaky sigh and wrapped both of his arms around Harry’s waist. 

Harry pressed his lips to Draco’s cheek and pulled him close.

***

Half an hour later, Harry pressed another kiss to Draco’s cheek. “We need to move,” he said.

“Why?” Draco asked, his voice slightly hoarse. 

“I need the loo,” Harry replied regretfully, making Draco snort. 

“Of course you do,” he said. 

“Sorry,” Harry said with a grin. “Get up, come on.” 

Draco groaned but obediently stood up, holding onto Harry’s hand. “I can’t believe that I am at this stage of my life,” he said. “Following you to the toilet like a puppy.” 

Harry laughed. “Well, you could stay here if you want, but I don’t think either of us would enjoy that… er, not that we’ll enjoy going to the toilet either, but... you know what I mean!” 

Draco snorted again. “Luckily for you, I do,” he said as they left the room and headed up the stairs. “When you’re done, maybe we can practice the Patronus again?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Harry said, nodding. “You’re getting so close now.” 

“I hope so,” Draco replied. “I’m pleased with just being able to produce the shield, but I really want an animal.” 

Harry chuckled. “You’ll get one, I’m sure. It just takes time.” 

“How long did it take you?” Draco asked. 

“I… er… don’t measure your performance by mine,” Harry said. “I didn’t do it straight away, it took me a good few months and even then I didn’t know it was going to happen.” 

“So you don’t think I’ll manage it just yet?” Draco asked, frowning slightly as they entered the bathroom. 

“I don’t know,” Harry replied honestly. “You’re a lot older than I was when I was learning, there’s every chance you’ll get it quicker than me.” 

Draco hummed, turning his back to Harry while he used the toilet. “I still want to try.” 

Harry smiled to himself. “Then we’ll keep practicing until it happens.” 

“Good,” Draco replied. “I refuse to let this beat me.”

Harry flushed the toilet and laughed. “Alright,” he said, “well, when you eventually get an animal, how about you teach me something?”

“What could I possibly teach you?” Draco asked in surprise. “You’re an Auror. You must have been taught most things in training?” 

“I’m still shit at Occlumency,” Harry admitted, washing his hands. “I’ve never been able to get it.”

“Really? Well, I think I can probably help you with that,” Draco said thoughtfully. “I’ve been able to do that since I was fifteen. My, ah, my aunt taught me.” 

“Bellatrix?” Harry asked, pausing. 

Draco nodded. “Yes,” he said. “As you can imagine, she was around quite a lot that year.” 

Harry nodded too, putting the towel back on the rail and taking Draco’s hand once more. “Yeah,” he said. “...did you get on well with her?” 

Draco shrugged as they left the bathroom. “Mostly, I suppose,” he said. “She was very keen to teach me dark spells, of course. Mother wasn’t thrilled with her for that.” 

Harry snorted. “No, I don’t suppose she was,” he said. “Did you want to learn?” 

“Some of them,” Draco admitted. “They were interesting. I didn’t want to use them against people though. It was more the learning process that I liked.” 

“Makes sense, I suppose,” Harry said softly. “I’ve had to learn some through work. I can certainly see the appeal, the magic is powerful, but I don’t think I’ll ever understand the mentality of dark wizards.” 

Draco shook his head. “Me neither,” he said. “I never wanted to be a dark wizard, despite what you all might have thought.” 

Harry shrugged. “I don’t think I ever _really_ believed that,” he said. “I was sure you’d taken the mark, but at that point, you were still acting like Billy Big Bollocks, so what was I meant to think?”

“Billy Big Bollocks?” Draco asked, amused. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, you were acting all high and mighty — more than usual I mean — and you weren’t wearing your uniform all the time, as though you thought you were better than the rest of us,” Harry replied with a grin. “It wasn’t until later in the year that I started to think otherwise.” 

“When I started to break, you mean?” Draco asked with a groan. “It was a very stressful year.” 

“I know,” Harry said, leading Draco back down the stairs and into the living room. “You definitely don’t need to tell me that. Believe it or not, I was actually concerned about you.” 

“I think I might believe that now,” Draco replied. “I wouldn’t have believed it at the time. I’m glad we made it through that year.”

“So am I,” Harry sighed. “There was a point when I was worried we might not.” 

“Me too,” Draco nodded. “Mine was in the girls’ toilet on the first floor…” 

“I felt awful about that,” Harry said softly. “As soon as I saw the blood, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake.” 

“I know,” Draco replied. “I never thought you’d done it on purpose. I didn’t know what the spell was either, but I could hear you when I was lying there. In an odd way, I was glad you hit me with it. I thought it might get me out of the mission.” 

“Sorry,” Harry said. “I wish it had. Although it wouldn’t have changed anything, Snape still would have killed Dumbledore because he’d been asked to. It was never going to be you.” 

“I wish I’d known that at the time,” Draco said with another sigh. “Not that I wanted Dumbledore dead, but… you know.” 

“Yeah, I do,” Harry said, squeezing Draco’s hand again. “We got past it though. We survived. Now we have to live.”

Draco groaned softly. “You sound like one of those strange singing fairy greetings cards that my mother is fond of,” he said. “Very cheesy.” 

“Cheesy is what I do best, apparently,” Harry replied with a grin. “Are you ready to practice this charm again, or what?” 

“Yes. Let’s do it,” Draco said with a nod. “Then maybe we can just do nothing for the rest of the night. The potions are fine until tomorrow, so unless you’ve got some work you need to do, there’s surely nothing that will spoil?” 

“Sounds good to me,” Harry said, nodding. “I’ve done all my paperwork for today. Maybe we could watch a film.”

“A what?” Draco asked, frowning.

“A film,” Harry said. “It’s a Muggle thing. Like a book, but you see the story.” 

“Do Muggle things work in this house?” Draco asked, surprised. “With all the magic?” 

“Not properly,” Harry admitted. “But there’s a charm I can use if I want to watch a film.” 

“Another invention of Granger’s?” Draco asked, giving Harry a sideways look. 

“Are you suggesting I can’t come up with these things on my own?” Harry replied in mock outrage. 

“Yes,” Draco said, looking straight at Harry. “Am I wrong?” 

Harry opened his mouth before giving a huff of annoyance. “No,” he muttered. “Of course it’s Hermione’s invention.” 

Draco laughed. “I knew it. Right, let’s get on with this, shall we?” 

Harry nodded. “Yep,” he said. “Let’s see how you go.” 

For the next hour, Draco cast and re-cast the Patronus Charm, watching as the shield got stronger and stronger, but still did not produce a distinct shape. 

After an hour and fifteen minutes, Draco sighed and dropped his wand to his side. “I think I’m done for today,” he said. 

Harry nodded. “I think so too,” he said. “It’s tiring. Let’s go and have a bite to eat.” 

“And watch a film?” Draco asked, looking across at Harry. “You said we could watch a film.” 

Harry chuckled. “We can watch a film if you like,” he said. “There’s a film of The BFG if you want to watch that?” 

“Is there really?” Draco asked, his eyes lighting up. 

“Yep,” Harry replied. “It’s a cartoon — not real people — but it follows the story. I’m sure we’ll be able to find it.” 

“I’d like to watch it,” Draco said immediately. “I enjoyed the book a lot. I’d like to see it happen.” 

“Then we’ll watch that,” Harry said with a smile. “After we’ve eaten.”

Draco nodded, leading the way out of the room and down the stairs.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Having eaten dinner, Harry led Draco back into the living room where they picked the cushions up from in front of the fire and placed them back on the sofa before sitting down. 

“So how do we watch this film?” Draco asked, leaning against Harry lightly. 

“There’s a DVD player under the wireless,” Harry said. “I bought it a few months ago, when I was out of action.” 

“Out of action?” Draco repeated. “How were you out of action?” 

“Injured on a raid,” Harry replied, shifting slightly beside Draco. “I had to have a month off and it was just so _boring_. I needed something to do, so Hermione suggested a DVD player.”

“What was the injury?” Draco asked, regarding Harry carefully. 

“Laceration to my left arm and spell damage,” Harry said, making a face. “The spell damage prevented the wound from healing and the Healers couldn’t get rid of it all, so I had no choice but to stay off work until it worked itself out.” 

Draco frowned. “They couldn’t get rid of the spell damage?” he asked. “But how? They can usually do anything at St. Mungo’s.” 

Harry shrugged again. “I don’t know,” he said. “It seemed really resistant to everything they threw at it.” 

Draco shook his head. “I can’t believe they couldn’t figure it out,” he said. “The Healers in France would have.” 

Harry gave a half smile. “Possibly,” he said. “But what’s done is done. They managed to give me something that helped release it from my body, at least. Now all that’s left is a scar.” 

“Another one,” Draco murmured, eyeing the lightning bolt that was just visible under Harry’s fringe. 

“Another one,” Harry nodded. “Bigger, but less painful. You must have seen it since you’ve been here?” 

“Yes, but I didn’t know how you got it,” Draco replied.

“I suppose I do have quite a few scars,” Harry said thoughtfully. 

“You and me both,” Draco said softly. “We’re like a pair of jigsaw puzzles, when you think about it.”

Harry chuckled. “That’s a different way of looking at it,” he said. “But you’re right, I suppose. Your scars are more faded than mine though…” 

“Something else I’ve invented,” Draco said. “It’s not that I’m ashamed of my scars, but they just looked so angry against my pale skin. I wanted to see if I could make them look less so. So I came up with another kind of salve.”

“Your talent is so wasted,” Harry said, sitting up and looking at Draco properly. “You could be making a fortune as a top supplier.” 

“Not with my name,” Draco replied. “I told you. People weren’t interested when I tried with my name behind the products.”

“We’re going to put that right,” Harry said firmly. “Once we’re married. I promise you.” 

Draco smiled sadly. “We’ll see,” he said. “Are we going to watch The BFG now?”

Harry regarded him for a moment and then nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah. Give me a second to sort the charm out,” he added, pulling his wand out. 

Draco watched as Harry conjured up a screen from nowhere and set it up, linking it to the DVD player. He blinked as an image flickered onto the screen.

“Ready?” Harry asked, settling back beside Draco. 

“I wouldn’t say I’m ready, exactly,” Draco said warily, watching the screen. “Intrigued is probably a better word.” 

Harry smiled. “Understandable,” he said. “Let’s watch and see what you think.” 

“Alright,” Draco nodded, shifting so that he was resting more comfortably against Harry. 

Harry slid his arm around Draco so that they were both comfortable, and turned his attention to the film as it started properly.

***

An hour and a half later, the end credits rolled on the film.

Harry shifted again, realising that Draco’s arm had crept across his waist as they’d watched. “What did you think?” 

“Sophie didn’t look like I thought she would,” Draco replied. 

Harry chuckled. “I suppose that’s what the animation artist thought she looked like,” he said. “We’ll probably never know whether that’s what Roald Dahl pictured her looking like.” 

“Maybe not,” Draco agreed. “I don’t mind. I enjoyed it all the same.” 

“Good, I’m glad,” Harry replied with a smile. “It’s really for children, I suppose, but considering that was your first Muggle film, I think it was a good one.” 

“What other kinds of films are there?” Draco asked, shifting against Harry’s shoulder. 

“All kinds,” Harry said. “Action, comedy, romance, horror…” 

“Why would you want to watch something that is horror?” Draco asked with a frown. 

“Well, some people like being scared,” Harry replied. “So they enjoy the films. Personally, I’ve seen enough horror in my own life. I’m not a fan.” 

“No, I don’t think I would enjoy that either,” Draco replied, making a face. “I like my life to be un-horrifying.” 

Harry chuckled. “Me too. Comedies are my favourite, I think. I like being able to laugh at something.” 

“Can we watch a comedy next time?” Draco asked. “Do you have a favourite?” 

“I like Monty Python,” Harry replied. “I remember my uncle watching it and hating it. So, it automatically became my favourite because of that, but it is also really funny.” 

“Nothing to do with you being a Parselmouth then?” Draco asked, tilting his head to look at Harry. 

Harry laughed. “No, not at all,” he said. “There’s not actually any pythons in the films. There is a vicious rabbit in Holy Grail though.” 

“Rabbits can’t be vicious,” Draco snorted. 

“This one is,” Harry said knowingly. “Trust me. It’s not like a normal rabbit.” 

Draco gave him a disbelieving look before yawning. “I’m so tired today.” 

“Me too,” Harry said. “I know we’ve not been doing much, but it’s almost more exhausting.”

“It’s weird,” Draco agreed. “But I know what you mean.” 

“I can’t wait until we can be separate again,” Harry sighed. “So we can go around like normal.” 

“Oh, Merlin, _yes_ ,” Draco exclaimed. “No offence, but it will be nice to be able to go to the toilet on my own again.” 

Harry laughed. “Tell me about it,” he said. “Hopefully just a week to go.” 

Draco nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Hopefully. What do you want to do now?” 

“I don’t mind,” Harry replied. “We could go to bed early? Or we could stay here and watch another film?” 

“What time is it?” Draco asked, twisting his head to try and see the clock that he knew was on the wall behind them. 

“It’s only half eight,” Harry said, also turning to look at the clock. “Do you want to go to bed that early?” 

“Not really,” Draco replied, making a face. “That’s a bit early even for me.” 

“Another film then?” Harry asked. “We could watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” 

“The book you were reading?” Draco asked, looking back at Harry, who nodded. 

“Yeah, the film is a bit different from the book,” Harry replied. “But it’s still a good film. It’s a bit musical though.” 

“Musical? Like… playing music?” Draco asked, frowning once more. “What does that have to do with a chocolate factory?” 

“No, not playing music,” Harry chuckled. “But there are a few songs. They’re good though. I think you’ll like it.” 

“Hmm,” Draco said thoughtfully. “Well, we’ll see. Put it on then.” 

Harry laughed and pulled his wand out again, pointing it at the DVD player to put the next film on. 

Draco smiled and settled back against the cushions, watching as the screen flickered to life again. 

Harry put his wand down once more and slid back down, his arm across Draco’s shoulders again. 

Draco smiled and slid his own arm across Harry’s waist once more as they settled in to watch the film. 

As the final credits rolled an hour and forty minutes later, Draco stretched, pressing his hand against Harry’s chest. “That was weird,” he said sleepily, “but I liked it. I can see why Muggle children like these films.” 

“Mm,” Harry nodded, stretching his arms above his head. “They’re good, aren’t they? Did you like the songs?” 

“They were good,” Draco nodded, suppressing a yawn. “A bit cheesy, but quite fun too.” 

Harry chuckled. “Ready for bed now then?” 

“Yes,” Draco admitted. “I’m very tired.” 

“Me too,” Harry agreed. “Let’s go then,” he added, nudging at Draco to get up. 

Draco groaned softly as he got to his feet, holding out his hand for Harry to take before they headed up the stairs and to bed.

***

The next week seemed to fly by, each day passing in what seemed like the blink of an eye. On the Monday after Harry and Draco had Floo called her, Hermione had shown up at the house with a tailor in tow.

The tailor had proceeded to measure both Harry and Draco for suits. Any confusion over why they constantly held hands had been dealt with by Hermione after they had left the house. She managed to cast a memory modifying charm that ensured the tailor didn’t remember the constant hand-holding, but remembered everything else about the visit, including the details of the suits that were required. 

By the time Friday afternoon arrived, both Harry and Draco found themselves getting increasingly stressed and nervous about what would happen the next day. 

Having spent the day in the lab, trying to keep themselves busy, they finally gave up at about five o’clock. 

“I need to just stop,” Draco said, putting his wand down and running his free hand through his hair. “I’m in danger of messing these potions up because all I can think about is tomorrow.” 

“Same here,” Harry sighed. “Do you fancy a takeaway tonight? Kreacher is good, but I just really fancy a Chinese takeaway or something.” 

“That sounds amazing,” Draco replied, giving a sigh of happiness. “I just want to try and forget about the world for at least tonight.” 

“Pretend to be normal, you mean?” Harry asked, resting his chin on Draco’s shoulder. 

“Yes,” Draco nodded. “I mean, not that we’re not normal, obviously.” 

“I know what you mean,” Harry said, patting Draco’s side lightly. “Are you superstitious?”

“I don’t think so, why?” Draco asked, frowning slightly. 

“Just that it’s meant to be bad luck for couples to see each other the night before a wedding, isn’t it?” Harry replied, shrugging. “But given our situation…” 

“There’s not much we can do about it,” Draco finished, nodding. “Let’s hope it’s rubbish.” 

Harry chuckled. “I think it probably is,” he said. “I just wasn’t sure if you were superstitious or not.” 

Draco shook his head. “No, you don’t need to worry,” he said. “Besides, I think we’ve already been hit by enough bad luck, don’t you?” 

Harry snorted. “Definitely,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go and get the takeaway menu.” 

Draco nodded, putting his wand into his pocket and letting Harry lead him out of the lab and down to the living room where they found the menu. 

“So do we have to go and pick this food up from somewhere?” Draco asked, looking at the address on the menu. 

“No, they’ll deliver it,” Harry said. “I usually go out to the phonebox in front of the house and order it that way. For all I’ve managed to get the DVD player working, phones are still a no go, apparently.” 

“I don’t understand phones,” Draco said immediately, giving Harry a frown. “I think you need to take care of this.” 

Harry laughed. “I will, don’t worry,” he said. “What do you want?” 

“I think I’d like to try this,” Draco said, pointing to the menu. “Roast duck with ginger and spring onion. I know what all of those things are.” 

“Oh, good choice,” Harry said, writing it down. “I’m going to have the crispy shredded chicken.” 

“Do you order from here often?” Draco asked, turning the menu over again. 

“Not very often,” Harry admitted. “Maybe once a month, to give Kreacher a break. Not that he’s grateful for it, of course.” 

Draco snorted. “No, I can’t imagine he is,” he said. “I wondered why you’d never asked me about this before.” 

“I wasn’t sure if you’d like it,” Harry admitted. “I don’t know whether there are places like this in the wizarding world. It’s never really come up before.” 

Draco shook his head. “No, there aren’t,” he said. “At least I’ve never heard of any, and I’m sure I would have done.” 

Harry nodded. “You probably would have done,” he said. “Right, do we want any extras?” 

Draco gave Harry a look. “What do you mean by extras?” 

“Well, like prawn crackers or prawn toast? Spring rolls?” Harry explained. 

“Potter, I’ve just told you I’ve no experience with these things,” Draco said. “You will have to elaborate.” 

“Or I could just get one of the sharing starters and you can try them?” Harry suggested, writing another number down. “We’ll get free prawn crackers anyway.”

“Well, alright,” Draco said, nodding. “That sounds good.” 

“Come on then,” Harry said. “You’ll have to come to the phone with me.”

“Lead the way,” Draco replied, gesturing to the door. 

Harry pulled Draco after him as he headed out of the kitchen and down the hallway. They continued out onto the street and to the telephone box that stood across the road. You read the number out for me,” he said, handing the menu to Draco.

Draco nodded. “Alright,” he said, waiting until Harry was ready before reading the number out. 

Harry gave their order, reading it out twice to make sure that the person he was speaking to got it all down. “Thanks,” he said, once he’d finished. “Yeah, number twelve… no, this isn’t my phone number. It’s a public phone, mine isn’t working. Okay, great. ‘Bye.” 

“Why did they ask if it was your phone number?” Draco asked curiously. 

“In case they need to contact us, I suppose,” Harry said. “I have to tell them the same thing every time. I suppose it’s a bit weird that someone is phoning them from a public phone box nowadays.” 

“Is it?” Draco asked, giving Harry a look of confusion. 

“Well, probably,” Harry said. “Most Muggles have a telephone. Obviously they don’t know I’m not a Muggle, or that my house is full of magic that stops things like telephones working.” 

“Hmm, no I suppose they don’t,” Draco said, thoughtfully. “How long will it take for them to deliver the food?” 

“They said half an hour,” Harry replied. “So hopefully they’re right. Let’s get back inside,” he added, pushing open the door and leading Draco back across the street and into the house. 

Twenty five minutes later, while they were playing a game of Exploding Snap, a knock sounded at the door. 

“Oh, food’s here!” Harry exclaimed, jumping up and jolting Draco’s arm. “Oops, sorry. Come on.” 

“I hope you know I won that game,” Draco said, glancing over his shoulder at the cards as they made their way down the hall to answer the door. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Harry said, grabbing the money on his way. “We can have a rematch after we’ve eaten.” 

Draco rolled his eyes and stepped to one side as Harry opened the door. 

“Hi,” Harry greeted the delivery person and took the offered bag of food, before handing it to Draco. “Here you go.” 

Draco watched as the delivery person quickly counted the money and left, leaving Harry to close the door. 

“It smells good,” Harry said, inhaling deeply. “Do you want to eat in the kitchen or the living room?” 

“Kitchen is fine,” Draco said, looking at Harry in confusion again. “Why would we eat in the living room?” 

Harry shrugged. “It’s just what people do when they get a takeaway,” he said. “Eat in front of the TV.” 

“You don’t have a TV,” Draco said. “You have a DVD player and a magic screen.” 

“Fair point,” Harry said after a moment of consideration. “Kitchen it is then.” 

They made their way back along the hallway and into the kitchen, where they got out plates and cutlery, before sitting down to eat. 

“Oh this is good,” Draco said after eating a mouthful of his food. “Have you tried this before?” 

Harry shook his head. “No, it just sounds nice,” he said. “I’ve not had anything from that section of the menu before.” 

“Here, try some,” Draco said, holding his fork out towards Harry. 

Harry regarded the fork for a moment before leaning over to take the food into his mouth. He couldn’t help the sound of happiness that escaped. “Mm, you’re right. That is good.” 

“Told you,” Draco replied with a smile, loading up his fork again. 

“All the food from that place is insanely good though,” Harry said. “Here, you want to try some of mine?” 

Draco nodded, immediately opening his mouth for Harry to feed him. 

“Bit ironic, isn’t it?” Harry asked as he lifted his fork to Draco’s mouth. “Feeding each other is the exact thing we were denying not so long ago.” 

Draco swallowed the mouthful of food and nodded. “That’s nice too,” he said. “And yes, but now we’re doing it in the privacy of our own home. It’s allowed here.” 

Harry laughed and continued eating. “Fair enough,” he said. 

Draco grinned and put another forkful of food into his mouth. 

They lapsed into silence as their hunger took over and they continued to eat. 

Once they’d eaten their fill and cleared the containers, Harry looked at Draco. “What do you want to do now?” 

“I don’t know,” Draco said softly. “I don’t fancy playing any more Exploding Snap.” 

“No, neither do I,” Harry admitted. “What do people normally do on the eve of their wedding?” 

“I have no idea,” Draco said. “Surely there’s no right or wrong here?” 

“I don’t think so,” Harry replied. “Should we just… go to bed? I mean, it probably won’t hurt to get a good night’s sleep, will it?” 

“No, I don’t think it would at all,” Draco said. “In fact, maybe bed is the best place for us to be.” 

“Maybe,” Harry nodded. “Let’s go. We don’t have to sleep straight away, I suppose.” 

“I don’t know if I’ll be sleeping at all,” Draco sighed. “I don’t handle nerves very well.” 

“I’ll be right there,” Harry said. “You won’t have to worry.” 

“I know,” Draco nodded. “We’ll be there for each other.” 

Harry stood up, taking Draco’s hand once more. 

Draco stood too, glancing around the kitchen. “I can’t believe it’s been a month,” he said softly. “It feels like I just got here and yet, at the same time, it feels like I’ve always been here.” 

“I know what you mean,” Harry said. “It would be weird without you here now.” 

“Do you think the spell will have worn off?” Draco asked as they headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. 

“I don’t know,” Harry said. “And I don’t know how I’ll feel if it has, if I’m honest.” 

“Same here,” Draco replied, his voice dropping to a whisper. 

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand tightly as they climbed the last few stairs to the second floor. “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it tomorrow,” he said softly. “Don’t think about it tonight.” 

“I’ll try not to,” Draco replied. “Can I be little spoon tonight?” 

Harry smiled and nodded. “Yeah, of course,” he said. “Anything you want.” 

Draco gave a nod too. “Thank you.” 

Harry squeezed Draco’s hand again as they entered the bathroom. They both used the toilet and got washed before heading to the bedroom. 

They undressed in silence, stripping to their boxer shorts before climbing into the bed. Harry turned on his side, waiting for Draco to settle next to him. 

Draco pulled Harry’s arm across his waist, holding onto his hand. 

Harry pressed a kiss to Draco’s shoulder. “Okay?” 

“Yeah,” Draco said softly. “It’s all just becoming real, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is,” Harry replied. “I mean, I know it’s been real for a while but…” 

“But now it’s tomorrow,” Draco finished. “And by this time we’ll be married.” 

“I know,” Harry said. “We’ll be alright. The only people who’ll be there are our friends and family.” 

Draco sighed and tightened his grip on Harry’s hand. “I know,” he said. “Just… just hold me tonight, will you?” 

“All night,” Harry said softly, shifting a bit closer to Draco. “See you in the morning.” 

“Goodnight,” Draco whispered, closing his eyes as the beat of Harry’s heart against his back provided a calming rhythm for him to fall asleep to.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the penultimate chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who has helped me with this fic by betaing or giving feedback along the way. It's pretty much safe to say that this story would not have grown to be what it is without you all. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

The next morning arrived in a blaze of golden light as the sun beamed through the window, bathing Harry and Draco in its rays while they slept. 

They slept soundly until half past eight when Harry stirred, his arm moving across Draco’s stomach. 

“Don’t go,” Draco mumbled, gripping Harry’s hand tightly.

“I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry,” Harry replied, pulling Draco to him. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t.” 

“I know, sorry,” Draco replied, rolling over in Harry’s arms. “Today’s the day.” 

“Yeah… today’s the first day of the rest of our lives,” Harry said, smiling as Draco opened his eyes. 

“Scared, Potter?” Draco whispered, looking right into Harry’s eyes. 

“Absolutely terrified,” Harry admitted, resting his forehead against Draco’s. “But we’ll get through it.” 

“Glad it’s not just me,” Draco replied. “I think my stomach is trying to eat itself.” 

“No breakfast, then?” Harry asked. 

“Not yet, that’s for sure,” Draco said. “Unless you want to see it again in five minutes.” 

“I’d rather not,” Harry said, making a face. “Do you think it’s too early to have the diagnostic spells performed?” 

“Probably,” Draco replied. “Maybe we could practice the Patronus? It might help my nerves if I can concentrate on something else.” 

“Sounds good,” Harry said, nodding. “Do you want to do it now?” 

“Yes please,” Draco replied. “Let’s go.”

“Get some comfy clothes on then,” Harry said, rubbing Draco’s back lightly. “We’ve got a couple of hours.”

Draco slid to the edge of the bed, still holding onto Harry’s hand as he did so. “Let’s do an hour then get breakfast,” he said. 

“Alright,” Harry smiled, sliding out of the bed too. 

They dressed quickly and made their way downstairs and into the living room. Harry stuck his head into the kitchen as they passed to ask Kreacher to cook them breakfast. 

“Okay,” Harry said. “Take it away.” 

Draco nodded, pulling out his wand and taking a deep breath. He began to cast the charm, watching as the silver shield appeared again and again, each time becoming stronger. 

“That’s really great,” Harry exclaimed, smiling at Draco with delight after forty five minutes. “It looks like it’s trying to form a shape too.” 

“Really?” Draco asked, surprised. His concentration wavered and the Patronus disappeared. 

Harry nodded. “Yeah,” he said enthusiastically. “It was doing a weird sort of shimmering. I bet it’ll form a corporeal Patronus next time. Do you want to try again now?” 

Draco nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I’ll have one last go now and then we can get breakfast.” 

“Alright,” Harry said, squeezing Draco’s hand. “Whenever you’re ready.” 

“Right,” Draco said, taking another steadying breath. He raised his wand once more and closed his eyes, concentrating on his memory before beginning to move the wand in the familiar circular motion. “ _Expecto Patronum!_ ”

Harry gasped at Draco’s side as the shimmering silver vapour burst from the hawthorn wand. “Y-you did it,” he whispered, looking at the now fully formed Patronus. 

Draco, who had by now opened his eyes, turned to look at Harry. A somewhat fearful expression on his face, he let his wand drop to his side. “I—” 

Harry pulled Draco to him, crushing their lips together in the fiercest kiss they had yet shared. 

Draco wrapped his arms around Harry, kissing back hungrily. He walked into Harry slightly, pushing backwards until they landed on the sofa, breakfast forgotten. 

Harry moaned into the kiss, his hand dropping to Draco’s waistband, his fingers pushing past the soft fabric of the jogging bottoms he was wearing. 

Draco gasped, breaking the kiss as he felt Harry’s fingertips graze his stomach. 

“S-sorry,” Harry stuttered. “I—” 

“‘S’ok.” Draco breathed. “I didn’t—” 

“A stag,” Harry whispered, breathing hard. “Y-you’ve got a stag.”

Draco nodded. “It would appear I do,” he said softly. 

“Did you know?” Harry asked, gazing up at Draco as he continued to kneel over him. 

“I had a feeling,” Draco admitted. “But I wasn’t sure if you… if you felt the same.” 

Harry chuckled hoarsely. “I think I have done for a while,” he said softly. “I didn’t want to admit it in case we got the magic removed and you wanted out.” 

Draco began to laugh too. “This magic has messed with our heads, I think.” 

“I think so too,” Harry replied with a grin, his hands still firmly on Draco’s waist. 

“I— I also think I love you, Harry Potter,” Draco said softly, lowering his head to kiss Harry once more. 

“I think I love you too,” Harry replied in a whisper as he returned the kiss slowly.

The next few minutes were spent kissing lazily. The shimmering silver stag had long since disappeared. 

“We should get breakfast,” Draco murmured, breaking the kiss once more. “We have a wedding to get ready for.” 

“Mm,” Harry mumbled. “I suppose you’re right… let me see your Patronus again first.”

Draco chuckled softly, pressing one last kiss to the corner of Harry’s mouth. “If you insist,” he said. He slid off Harry’s lap to sit beside him, brandishing his wand once more. “ _Expecto Patronum_!” 

Harry watched as the stag appeared once more. As he looked at it, he realised that it was slightly smaller than his own stag and slightly more refined and regal looking. He smiled as he thought that the stag represented Draco incredibly well. Reaching for his own wand, he carefully performed the spell. “ _Expecto Patronum_ ,” he murmured. 

Draco startled slightly as Harry’s stag appeared, and they watched as the two stags circled each other before nuzzling one another gently. 

“I suppose this is a sign, isn’t it?” Draco asked, looking back at Harry. 

“I think so,” Harry nodded. “Do you still want to have the diagnostic spells performed?” 

“Do you?” Draco replied. 

“We might as well,” Harry said. “We know what we have is for real now, we don’t need a bonding spell.” 

Draco nodded. “Good logic,” he said. “Let’s get breakfast and call Granger.” 

“Alright,” Harry replied. He stood up, pulling Draco with him, and they headed into the kitchen where they were greeted by two steaming mugs of coffee and two full English breakfasts already plated up and waiting for them.

***

Once they had eaten breakfast and negotiated the toilet for what they hoped would be one of the last times, they returned to the kitchen to call Hermione, who answered almost immediately.

“Happy wedding day!” she said brightly. 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Thanks,” he said, nudging Draco slightly. “We were just wondering if you’re free to come and do some diagnostic spells?” 

“Of course,” Hermione replied, nodding. “Give me five minutes and I’ll come through.” 

“See you when you get here,” Harry said.

Hermione disappeared and the flames died down again. 

“Well, it’s the moment of truth, I suppose,” Harry said, turning to Draco again.

Draco nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is, not that it matters.” 

Harry grinned and leant over to kiss Draco soundly. “No,” he said as he pulled back. “It doesn’t.” 

Draco grinned too, pulling Harry close again just as the fire roared and Hermione stepped into the kitchen. 

Raising her eyebrow, she regarded them. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Harry said, shaking his head. “You’re really not. We’re ready for the diagnostics to be done.” 

Draco rolled his eyes. “Well, you were a little bit, but it was nothing that won’t wait,” he said.

“Alright…” Hermione said slowly, shaking her head slightly before pulling out her wand. “Ready?” 

“Yes,” they replied at the same time. 

Hermione began to murmur a litany of spells, her magic surrounding Harry and Draco where they sat.

After a few moments, the shimmering spells disappeared and Hermione tucked her wand back into her belt. 

Harry and Draco looked at her, their expressions a mixture of hope and worry. 

“Well,” Hermione began. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but—”

“It’s still in place,” Harry said, giving a nod. 

“Unfortunately, yes,” Hermione replied. “It does seem weaker than before, but it is very much still there.” 

“We expected as much,” Draco said in a resigned voice. “So don’t worry.” 

“I know you were hoping it would have gone,” Hermione said. “Are you okay?” 

Harry inhaled before nodding again. “Yeah, we are,” he said. “In fact, I think we’re more than okay.” 

“We are. We’re ready for this,” Draco agreed, stroking Harry’s hand with his thumb.

Hermione watched them for a moment before nodding. “Alright, well, I’d better get back so I can get ready. We’ll see you at the Manor at one.” 

“Okay, thanks, Hermione,” Harry said, holding out his free arm to give her a hug. “We appreciate you doing this for us. Everyone knows to Floo directly to the Manor, don’t they?” 

Hermione nodded. “Yes, don’t worry,” she said. “We made sure to tell everyone. Mrs Malfoy said the wards would only be open for half an hour, so it’s going to be a bit tight.” 

“Which fireplace has she opened up?” Draco asked, looking up at Hermione. 

“The reception area,” Hermione said. “I think. Is that not the normal one?” 

“No, we usually use the kitchen one,” Draco replied. “But the reception room is much bigger than the kitchen, and so is the fireplace. It should be easy for everyone to arrive there.” 

“Oh, that makes sense,” Hermione said, nodding. “Right, I must go or I won’t be able to do anything with my hair. See you soon,” she added, kissing them both swiftly on the cheek before stepping back into the fireplace and disappearing in a whirl of flames. 

Harry turned to look at Draco. “Shower?” 

“Shower,” Draco agreed. “We don’t want to be too late getting to the Manor ourselves.” 

“No,” Harry said. “I know. I think we’ll be fine, it won’t take me that long to get ready.” 

“You’re forgetting that we’re still stuck together,” Draco replied, raising his eyebrows. “It’s bound to take a little bit longer than usual.”

“Ah… good point,” Harry said, pausing. “Alright. Let’s get going,” he added, standing up. 

Draco nodded as he stood up. “Do you think we should tell them about the Patronus?”

“I think we should show them,” Harry replied. “When we’re doing the vow bit, we can both cast the charm, maybe?”

“Oh, that’s a better idea,” Draco said. “I like that.”

Harry smiled. “Come on then, let’s get showered.”

They left the kitchen and headed up to the bathroom.

***

Shortly before one o’clock, Harry found himself in one of the bedrooms of Malfoy Manor, allowing Draco to straighten his collar for him.

“Honestly, Potter,” Draco muttered. “How do you manage to look like you’ve just fallen out of a tree even in a nice suit like this?” 

“It’s a talent,” Harry grumbled, running a hand through his hair. 

“Stop doing that,” Draco exclaimed, grabbing Harry’s hand. “You’re making it stick up even more.” 

“I can’t help it,” Harry said. “I’m nervous. This is big. This is a massive change for us both.” 

“Is it though?” Draco asked, looking Harry in the eyes. “We’ve been living together for a month. We’ve gone from arguing to kissing in that time, all we’re doing now is making it extra official.” 

Harry paused and then shook his head. “No, I suppose not,” he said softly. “I didn’t think I’d be this nervous.” 

“Me neither,” Draco replied. “But my stomach is in knots — in a good way — and I can’t wait to get the ceremony over with because I _hate_ being the centre of attention now.” 

Harry smiled and squeezed Draco’s hand. “Same here,” he said with a smile. He leant in to press a soft kiss to Draco’s lips.

The next second, the door to the room opened and Narcissa stepped inside. “Oh,” she said, stopping short. “Please forgive me, but we can begin the ceremony now. Everyone is here. Are you both ready?” 

Harry sprang backwards and looked at her in surprise. 

“I think we’re ready,” Draco said, tugging lightly on Harry’s hand. “Aren’t we?” 

“Oh! Yeah, yeah,” Harry said quickly, shaking his head slightly. “Sorry.” 

Narcissa smiled. “Do not worry, Harry,” she said. “It is understandable that you’re a bit distracted.” 

Harry gave a small smile. “I just can’t believe this is happening,” he said. “A month ago, my life was completely different. I’m grateful that we’ve had the chance to get to know each other properly, I just can’t help wishing it had happened in a different way.”

“I know,” Draco replied softly. “I feel the same. But we can’t change it now. For what it’s worth, I’m glad in a strange way that we did get bonded like this because I’m not sure we’d have ever figured things out otherwise.” 

“Maybe not,” Harry said, smiling. “Should we go and get married then?” 

Draco nodded. “Let’s go,” he said. “Mother, are we alright to both go out together? I know that traditionally we should go out separately, but...” 

“Yes, I should think so, given your situation,” Narcissa said with a slight smile. “Although I would appreciate it if you would allow me to accompany you.” 

“Of course,” Draco said, smiling and leaning across to kiss her on the cheek. “We would be honoured.”

Harry nodded in agreement. 

“Very well,” Narcissa smiled. “Are you ready? Alright, let’s go.” 

Harry swallowed and glanced at Draco, who nodded. 

“Come on,” Draco said softly. “It’s time.” 

Harry nodded, gripping his hand tightly as they followed Narcissa along the hall. 

“I’m so proud of you both,” Narcissa said quietly as they arrived at the door that led to the gardens. “You have handled this better than anyone would have expected you to. Marriage is certainly not an easy step for anyone to take, especially not for those who have been bonded against their will, but I know that you can handle this just as well.” 

Draco smiled and ducked his head slightly. “Mother,” he said softly. “Your support has been invaluable to us over the last few weeks,” he added, glancing at Harry for permission, smiling again when he nodded. “We want you to be the first to know; we’re not getting married just because of the bond. We’ve come to realise that we actually do love each other.” 

Harry nodded again. “Yeah,” he said. “We still don’t want the general public to know, but… this wedding is real.” 

Narcissa’s eyes widened briefly before she smiled and pulled them both into a hug. “I knew it,” she whispered into Draco’s ear. “I knew you were closer than you were letting on.” 

“We only really realised this morning,” Draco said. “Something happened to make us see what we’d been denying.” 

Narcissa smiled again, nodding slightly. “You do not need to explain yourselves to me,” she said. “Make the most of your day.” 

Harry glanced at Draco once more, smiling and squeezing his hand. “We intend to.” 

Draco nodded, returning Harry’s smile. 

“Alright,” Narcissa said. “Fen Bitterwood, the Ministry official, is ready for you. I must go and take my seat. Good luck, my darlings.” 

Harry and Draco watched as she swept through the door and disappeared. 

Taking a deep breath, Harry caught Draco’s other hand with his. “Ready?” 

Draco nodded, though the expression on his face said otherwise. “Yeah… actually, hang on,” he said, pulling one hand out of Harry’s grip and reaching for his wand. 

“What is it?” Harry asked worriedly. 

“ _Expecto Patronum_ ,” Draco said, casting the charm. He watched as the stag appeared once more and then looked at Harry. “I want them to be with us as we go out there. Can they do that?” 

Harry broke into a smile and nodded. “Yeah,” he said, reaching for his own wand. “Yeah, they can. We just have to maintain our thoughts. _Expecto Patronum_ ,” he added, watching as his own stag appeared. He looked back at Draco. “Ready now?”

“Yes,” Draco said, nodding. “Let’s go and get married.” 

Harry grinned and pushed the door open, stepping out onto the patio area, the giant stag alongside him. 

Draco followed, flanked by his own stag, and together they made their way through the grounds to the folly that had been transformed into an ethereal wedding venue. There were several rows of white chairs, all filled with their friends and family. Lining the edges of the folly were miniature cherry blossom trees, their pink flowers bringing softness to the brick walls of the structure. The pots in which they stood were wrapped with fairy lights, twinkling gently. At the head of the aisle, Fen Bitterwood, who would be performing the ceremony, stood waiting for them, but no-one else had noticed their arrival yet. 

“Wow,” Harry whispered as he gazed around. “This place is beautiful.” 

“It certainly looks better like this than it does with the usual spiderwebs about the walls,” Draco muttered, before grinning at Harry. “Come on.” 

They set off down the aisle, the stags following solemnly behind them. As they approached the Ministry official, Harry heard a few whispers about the Patronuses. Then, he distinctly heard Ron’s voice. 

“Why are there two stags?” Ron whispered loudly to Hermione. “Why would he need two?” 

Hermione’s eyes widened as she gazed at the pair of stags. “They’re not both Harry’s,” she whispered back. “They’re different!” 

Ron’s eyes widened in recognition and he fell silent. 

Draco squeezed Harry’s hand as he gave him a sideways look. 

Harry smiled and squeezed back. 

A few seconds later, they were standing in front of the official, their respective stags behind them. 

“Ready?” Fen Bitterwood asked quietly. 

Harry and Draco nodded, giving him nervous smiles. 

“Alright, then we’ll begin,” Fen replied, smiling warmly at them before raising his voice. “Good afternoon, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Draco Lucius Malfoy to Harry James Potter.” 

Harry focused his gaze on Draco, trying to ignore everything else that was going on. 

“While it is no secret that Harry and Draco have had their differences, they assure me that those days are well behind them. Instead of the usual speech from me, they have requested that they be allowed to speak themselves. Gentlemen,” Fen finished, gesturing to them as he stepped aside. 

Holding a silent conversation with their eyes, it was decided that Harry would speak first. 

“Draco,” Harry began, pausing as he mulled over how the name sounded. “A month ago, we met again for the first time in a couple of years. The circumstances… weren’t the best and they only got worse. At least, at first. As the month went on, I realised that I enjoyed your company far more than I thought I would. When the letter arrived from the Curse Breakers, I was terrified it was going to say they’d found a way to remove the bond, that we were going to be separate again — I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t mind a _little_ bit of separation sometimes — but of course, it didn’t. Yet, I still couldn’t tell you how I felt. Then, you cracked the Patronus charm and… suddenly I realised I wasn’t the only one hiding my true feelings. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you, you brilliant, brilliant human being.” 

Draco felt his cheeks flushing at Harry’s words, but he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face. Glancing over his shoulder at the silver stag, he took a deep breath. “H-Harry,” he faltered, stumbling over the name he had so rarely uttered. “When the bond was first establishing itself, I found myself wishing that it had never happened at all. Especially when you accidentally tested the magic one morning. But, like you, as time went on I realised that my feelings were changing. Just being around you made me feel happier than I had done in a long time, although it probably wasn’t obvious at times. After you told me about the Patronus charm, I knew it could show my true feelings. I thought that would be the only way you would believe that it wasn’t just the bond talking. Now I know that I couldn’t have been more wrong, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together either.” 

Fen Bitterwood stepped back in front of them. “Do you have rings?”

Harry shook his head. “No, we don’t want rings.” 

“Very well,” Fen said, inclining his head. “If you would please take each other’s right hand, I will perform the marriage bond which will permanently solidify your betrothal bond.” 

Harry and Draco nodded, each grasping the other’s right hand as though they were about to arm wrestle. 

Fen took out his wand and pointed it at their hands. He began to murmur some very complicated sounding words and they watched as thin, shimmering golden strands of magic wound themselves around their wrists. 

Harry marvelled at the warmth that surrounded his hand, watching as the tendrils of magic glowed as brightly as the sun, though he found he couldn’t look away as he would with sunlight. 

As Fen ended the incantation, the strands of magic were almost white in their glow and the heat was becoming unbearable. Just as the magic reached its hottest point, the heat was suddenly gone. The golden strands remained, shimmering gently for a further minute. Fen looked up and smiled. “The marriage bond is complete. Congratulations.” 

Harry looked up at Draco, breaking into a delighted smile. Taking hold of Draco’s suit jacket, he pulled him close. “Hi... husband.” 

Draco laughed and leant in to kiss Harry deeply, wrapping his arms around his new husband’s waist. 

Behind them, their stag Patronuses watched on, still shimmering as strongly as ever. 

Their assembled friends and family were talking between themselves, some cheered quietly while others expressed confusion. 

When Harry and Draco parted and turned to face the crowd, the applause began softly and rose into a crescendo of sound. 

Pansy made her way to Draco’s side, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I can’t believe that you didn’t tell me you could do that,” she said, gesturing to the stag. 

“Pans, I only found out this morning,” Draco replied with a laugh. “I was a little preoccupied.”

“Hmm, I suppose I can forgive you,” Pansy replied, her eyes twinkling. “I haven’t seen you this happy for years.” 

“I haven’t _been_ this happy for years,” Draco admitted. 

“Harry!” Hermione arrived at Harry’s side and flung her arms around him. “Why didn’t you tell us?” 

“We wanted to surprise everyone,” Harry replied, grinning. “We did only realise that everything was for real a few hours ago, though, so we weren’t really keeping anything from you.” 

Ron punched Harry lightly on the arm. “Congratulations, mate,” he said. “I can’t believe that you genuinely wanted to marry the ferret!” 

“Don’t call him that,” Harry chided as Draco turned round to look at Ron with narrowed eyes. 

Ron grinned innocently. “Just kidding,” he said. “I really am happy for you, you know.” 

“Thanks,” Harry said, smiling. “That means a lot.” 

For the next few minutes, there was a lot of noise and confusion as every one of the assembled guests made their way up to congratulate Harry and Draco. Amidst the confusion, Harry realised that for the first time in a month, he and Draco weren’t holding hands. He smiled to himself as he looked around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you’ve read this far and haven’t already checked out the fantastic artwork by maesterchill, then we’ll done for resisting! But please do go and check it out!


	20. Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've thrown out my posting schedule for the last chapter (sorry about that) and have posted it today.  
> Think of it as an early Christmas present (or an on-time one if you're somewhere where it's already the 25th) for those who celebrate. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave kudos or a comment. I will try and reply to them at some point! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the final chapter of this saga now that it's here. 
> 
> Happy Holidays!

Later that night, hours after the wedding ceremony had taken place, Harry found himself lying on his bed with his hands tucked under his head. His suit had been discarded and he was clad only in his boxer shorts after having his first solo shower in a month. He closed his eyes and reflected on the events of the day. 

A few moments later, he felt the mattress dip and a weight settle on his stomach. Opening his eyes, he grinned up at Draco. 

“That was the best shower I’ve ever had,” Draco said with a smile. “No offence.” 

Harry laughed. “Definitely none taken,” he said. “You smell amazing, by the way.” 

Draco smiled, planting his hands on either side of Harry’s head and leaning down to kiss him slowly. 

Harry gave a soft moan, pulling his hands out from under his head and gripping Draco’s waist instead as he kissed back. 

Draco ground his hips down slightly as the kiss began to get more heated, drawing another moan out of Harry. 

In return, Harry slid his hands up Draco’s back and over his shoulders before tracing one of the thin, silvery scars that covered Draco’s chest. 

Draco stilled the movement of his hips as Harry’s fingers fluttered lightly over his chest. He’d never been too bothered about anyone seeing his scars, but now that Harry was actually touching them, he didn’t know what to think. 

Harry broke the kiss, pulling away slightly. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. 

“It’s okay,” Draco replied, his voice sounding more harsh than he meant it to. “It’s done. I’m not ashamed of them, they’ve helped make me who I am now.” 

Harry smiled and pulled Draco down into another kiss. “And I wouldn’t change that,” he whispered before capturing Draco’s lips with his own. Since their confession that morning, he had been itching to get his hands on Draco, as though he’d suddenly been given permission to touch everywhere at once.

Draco kissed back fiercely, shifting his position slightly above Harry as he moved his hips once more. 

Harry ran his hands back up Draco’s chest and over his shoulders. He continued moving them until he reached the waistband of Draco’s boxers. He paused briefly before pushing past the strip of elastic and squeezing the soft flesh of Draco’s backside.

Draco made a pleased sound and pushed back against Harry’s hands. He broke the kiss once more, but kissed a trail along Harry’s jaw and down his throat instead, pausing to suck lightly on the pulse point. 

Harry groaned, tipping his head back against the pillow. He was breathing hard as he shifted underneath Draco, pushing himself a bit further up on the bed so that he was half sitting. He cupped the back of Draco’s neck with one hand, pulling him into another kiss. “As weird as this is going to sound, I don’t think I want to go all the way yet,” he whispered against the corner of Draco’s mouth. “This is different to those other blokes.”

“It’s okay,” Draco whispered back, kissing Harry again gently. “I don’t think I do either. I know we’re meant to consummate the marriage, but… I don’t want to rush things.” 

Harry smiled and kissed Draco again. “Neither do I,” he said. “We’ve got plenty of time for that.” 

Draco grinned and kissed back. “If I’m honest, Potter,” he began, before being interrupted. 

“Now we’re married, don’t you think you should start calling me Harry?” Harry asked, pressing his hands against Draco’s chest. 

Draco tilted his head slightly as he considered Harry’s request. “Hmm, nope, sorry,” he replied with a grin. “It’s been too long.” 

Harry laughed and pulled Draco into another kiss. “I suppose I can cope with that,” he said. “What were you going to say?” 

“If I’m honest,” Draco said. “I know we’ve been in each other’s pockets for a month, but we haven’t really… got to know each other, if you know what I mean?”

Harry nodded. “I do,” he said. “I was thinking the same thing, I suppose. We’ve been that busy just… trying to live that we haven’t really had a proper relationship, have we? I know we’ve kissed and messed about, but… it’s been a long time since, well, you know.” 

Draco nodded, shifting so that he was lying beside Harry. “Well that’s one way of killing the mood,” he teased. 

Harry groaned softly. “Sorry,” he said softly, turning onto his side. “It’s funny. All day I’ve been thinking we’d, y’know, shag but…” 

“I know,” Draco replied, trailing one hand down Harry’s arm. “I was thinking the same, believe me. But it’s weird, isn’t it? To go from the really early days of a relationship to, well, being married and doing things that married people do?” 

Harry gave a huff of laughter. “Yeah, it really is,” he said. “And don’t get me wrong, I want to do all of this with you. I just… want to take some time first.” 

Draco smiled and shifted closer to Harry. “I want to do it all with you, too,” he said. “And we have all the time in the world.” 

“Good,” Harry murmured, kissing Draco once more. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” 

Draco returned the kiss with a smile.

***

**The Boy Who _Loved_**

Yesterday saw the much-anticipated wedding of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. We saw the potential in these two right from the off and we couldn’t be more pleased for them. We were lucky to be invited to the ceremony and, as you can imagine, it was everything you would expect it to be. Read on for a behind the scenes look at the wedding of the century. 

We were welcomed into the grounds of Malfoy Manor - an honour in itself! - and shown to the most exquisitely decorated folly. The amount of fairy lights made it look incredibly beautiful, and the cherry blossom trees, which were in full bloom, smelled positively divine. The many, many rows of pristine white chairs were filled with friends of the happy couple. 

We did not have to wait long for proceedings to get underway. The Ministry appointed official was charming and welcomed us as we got our first glimpse of the couple. What was surprising was their escorts. No, they were not beautiful Veela or anything of the sort - they were accompanied by two spectacular, silver stags, though these were not just any stags, they were corporeal _Patronuses_. That’s right, reader. The two men have matching Patronuses, and as we all know, that is _very_ significant. 

The ceremony itself was fairly short. There were no rings exchanged, but the men had written their own vows which, sadly, we are unable to bring you. But take it from us - they were incredibly emotive! 

And, of course, this was the moment we had all been waiting for. The Kiss. We would not want to do this moment a disservice by describing it for you, so, we will leave you with this image of the day and say again, congratulations to the happy couple.

*

Harry snorted as he held the paper out to Draco. “Another honest article from _The Prophet_ ,” he said.

Draco took the paper and scanned it quickly before echoing Harry’s snort. “Mm. It’s a nice picture though, isn’t it? Almost worth waiting two years for, wouldn’t you say?” 

Harry laughed. “They’ve changed their tune about us, anyway,” he said. “I imagine our future will include many more of these articles. The last two years have been peaceful without these vultures hounding us.” 

“We’ll have to make it worth their while then, won’t we?” Draco replied, sliding his arms around Harry’s waist. 

“Indeed we will,” Harry murmured, closing the gap between them and kissing Draco with a smile. He was sure that he had never been happier.

**Author's Note:**

> The fic is complete, however, it has not all been betaed. I am hoping to post one chapter every two weeks to give Amelior8or chance to beta as we go. 
> 
> When searching for a title, I browsed song titles and this one jumped out at me. It's by Westlife, and on reading the lyrics, it is the perfect choice.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Becoming One [Fanart]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27977829) by [MaesterChill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaesterChill/pseuds/MaesterChill)




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